Snowfall
by JustKatatonic
Summary: Maximum Ride versus another 'flock' of sorts. Part of my Create an OC contest! The quest to get used to the other group who sometimes seems advanced, and Max wonders... have her and the flock expired their uniqueness?
1. Chapter 1

**Yay! First update to Snowfall! Yes it's earlier than usual, I typed this yesterday and all I have to do is comment and stuff. This is the Maximum Ride mash-up with YOUR OCs! Everyone will be used in the story, and the pack/ flock is all filled up, but I need more ANTAGONISTS! If you have an idea, tell me! Okay, thanks! And as I promised…**

**Disclaimer: Vanessa Winters belongs to Aquamarine427, Violet Snow and Jake Merciful belong to Dreams of the Darkness, Landon Reese belongs to… me I guess, Jet Williams and Candice Knox belong to WingedHero540, and Lee Shannon belongs to CheersToTheFreakinWeekend. I also don't own Max, Fang, Iggy, the Gasman, Ella, Angel, Nudge, or Dr. Martinez.**

**Note: Candice is not stated as having a name, but is described in it. Sorry if I tweaked your person a bit, maybe it was to make them unique. I didn't do it to everyone's, only specific people. Don't get angry! Please.**

Chapter 1: Acquaintances

_Max POV_

_Max… _the Voice said irritably. _Max!_

"What?" I mumbled into my pillow.

_Wake up. Iggy and the Gasman are preparing an attack to wake you_. I bolted upright and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I heard footsteps heading up the stairs. I laid down silently in my bed, acting asleep. I cracked my eyes open and saw Iggy carrying a huge bucket filled with water, probably ice.

"Heehee," Gazzy giggled. Iggy shushed him and began to tilt the bucket downwards, Gazzy helping as well.

"Rah!" I sat up and screamed, simultaneously pushing the bucket the other way, sending it crashing and spilling on Iggy and Gazzy. They fell to the carpet looking guilty. I downright died of laughter at their expressions. I wiped the tears out of my eyes and didn't bother to help them up as I left my room for breakfast.

"Mornin'," I said cheerfully, passing Nudge and my mom.

"Didn't Gazzy and Iggy go up there?"

"Hm? Really? I didn't see them," I said, lying through my teeth. Angel, eating a piece of toast, easily found out what happened and grinned at me as I poured a huge glass full of orange juice. Iggy came tromping down the stairs, clothes soaking wet. I snorted and Nudge gave him a surprised look, before reading her magazine again. He stomped into his room and slammed the door.

"No door slamming!" my mom yelled. My mom was Dr. Martinez and in case you didn't know, I'm staying at my mom's house with the flock and Ella. Ella was off playing soccer with her guy friends and Iggy had been irritable ever since he found out she had male friends that could see. I rolled my eyes before Gazzy came down as well, his clothes also wet.

"What the heck happened up there? Did you fall in the bathtub?" my mom exclaimed. He shook his head and also sulked in his room. Fang came in the sliding glass door, carrying the newspaper.

"Hey Fang," Angel said cheerfully. He rubbed her head before sitting on the couch and watching TV. He had been such a couch potato recently. Ella actually had a 'male friend' over, and Fang and Scott, that was his name, had a huge Super Bowl fight, debating over who should've won last year. The argument went on for ten minutes! Then, it was silenced by Dr. Martinez' famous chip dip. It was a strange, new side to Fang.

"Hey Max?" he said warily.

"Yeah?" I replied, eating a leftover scrambled egg.

"I think you're going to want to see this." I sighed and grabbed my bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and sat down next to him.

"What?" I asked, spooning in a bit.

"This," he said, pointing at the screen and turning up the volume.

"Turn it down Fang, before you go deaf," my mom scolded. He turned it down a bit before I actually concentrated on what the reporter was saying.

"Rumors around the U.S. report that there are strange people with unlikely powers hiding somewhere in the United States," the reporter said. I was nervous that the reporter got footage of us, but I was very wrong. A girl in a beanie and a few other people, two other girls and three guys, stood around a PacSun in a mall and someone filmed them with a shaky camera. A black-haired girl walked towards them with determination and they all turned and ran. A handsome teenage boy ran faster than the others as the girl who walked towards them leaped into the air and practically glued her hands and feet to the wall. She then proceeded to run superbly fast along the wall and then the ceiling. The girl dropped from the ceiling and tackled a tall girl with blonde hair with black and purple streaks. The girl struggled before suddenly, the girl who could stick to walls was fighting an identical twin. I stared at the TV in awe as the rest of the flock nearby watched intently. The girl with the beanie who was shoving her friends out the door ran back to help her other friend. She raised her hand and an icicle shot out of her hand, making a sort of sword as she stabbed the girl on top's shoulder. The girl howled in pain and the girl who morphed into another person was suddenly back to her regular self and snarled something at Beanie Girl who proceeded to give her an icy glare before the icicle disappeared and she was out the front door. Then, the footage shut off. The reporter said something but I wasn't listening. I gaped at the television before looking at the flock. Angel didn't appear to be moving and Fang still had his finger pointed at the television.

"Well," I said, breaking the silence.

"What was that?" Nudge exclaimed. "They're superhuman! Like us! Experiments of Itex!"  
>"We would think so," Fang replied.<p>

"What do we do?" Angel asked. I stood up, leaving my bowl of cereal behind.

"We go find them," I said dismissively. The prank-gone-bad that had occurred this morning seemed so far away now.

_Vanessa POV_

"I just think you could've let _me _handle it, Winters," Violet growled at me, ungrateful, as usual.

"I saved your _life_. Tiger-woman would've shredded you," I said defensively.

"Did you see her claws, Jet? They rival yours! And you too Landon," Lee added. Jet pulled off his gloves and rubbed his sharp nails. Landon shrugged.

"It's okay. Jet's claws are sharpened everyday, whereas I prefer not to wear gloves."

"They're comfy," Jet protested.

"Dude! That chick was hot!" Jake exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. The pain of my pack, Jake Merciful spoke up. He was 1 percent falcon and 1 percent snake.

"She tried to kill us, nimrod," Violet snarled, flipping her blonde with black and purple streaked hair behind her shoulder, her violet eye twisting as she zoomed in and out to get focus. Yeah, you heard me. Violet probably had the best powers of us, a form of shape shifting, and her special eye that had the ability to zoom out. I took off my beanie and laid it on the table, letting my ears puff out. I shook the snow off of my jacket and opened the fridge.

"Anyone hungry?" I asked.

"Hungry for revenge. You honestly think Tiger-woman will leave us alone? How did she even know we were there?" Jet asked, always asking the questions we would never wish to voice out loud. I sighed and closed the fridge.

"Guys, we need to concentrate on how we stay hidden at this point because it's possible she could find us here. Landon, check security cameras position A and F. Jet, make sure that the alarms are set. Jake…" I trailed off, looking at Jake napping on the couch. "Um, nevermind. Lee, quickly sweep the perimeter. And Violet…" she glared at me with a burning hatred I never understood. Her right eye focused in and out to see me better, "find food for us."

"Why me? What's wrong with Jake?" she said. Then, she added, "besides the obvious."

"He's asleep now, and it'll take him a day to get back with groceries. You have the best memory of all of us," I said. I was not flattering her, but it came across that way.

"If you think that I can memorize stuff better than you, listen up, fox ears," she snapped. I rubbed my fuzzy ears instinctively.

"First of all… you can go…"

"Okay! Fine! I'll go get groceries! Goodness gracious, Violet! It's just buying stuff! I'd give you the money, geez!" I stomped to the counter and swiped some money from the small cash register we have.

"Landon, you're in charge!" I yelled, my voice echoing across the house.

I understand you're new, so I'll explain some things. My name is Vanessa Winters and I'm 18 years old. My DNA was mixed with an arctic fox's and now I'm 2 percent arctic fox. I have white fluffy ears, which I cover up with a beanie and I have super hearing. I also can climb and jump easily, and survive in cold temperatures, but in heat, I pass out, so that's why I built this high-tech house where me and my pack live in near the Rocky Mountains, where it snows here in Colorado. The house was this old piece of rubble a few months ago, but it's refurnished and has security cameras, Internet, satellites, and alarms because ever since we escaped the facility where we were kept like rats, the people have been trying to find us, kill us, or kidnap us at once. Tiring work, don't you see? I'm also the leader of my pack, consisting of Jake Merciful, who is the blonde, thick-headed sixteen-year old who is also one percent falcon, and one percent snake; Landon Reese, who is practically my savior in the nutcase factory because he's calm and orderly and knows exactly what to say at the correct time, also, he's 2 percent cheetah, with super speed, camouflage, a tail, and retractable claws, and he's a carnivore, can't eat fruit or anything besides meat; Violet Snow, who I swear will be the very death of me, the stubborn, ignorant, rude girl who can shapeshift and has one green eye and one violet eye, which as I explained to you, can zoom in and out and see behind her; Lee Shannon, the prankster and saves us from becoming solitary bores, who is 2 percent eagle, with tawny wings with a wingspan of fifteen feet; and Jet Williams, who is my third in command and best friend to Landon and myself, and he is 2 percent mountain lion and stalks to the best of them. And of course, me. I am partially unlucky, however, when they mixed my DNA, I became 5 percent arctic fox, instead of originally 2. No side effects yet, but I don't trust myself.

Anyway, back to where I was. I was heading to the grocery store because Violet can't seem to do anything. She seems to only trust Landon and no one else. Little did I know, the grocery store would be a pretty interesting trip.

**This will be updated on Wednesdays and maybe Saturdays. I don't do a whole lot then, so I might as well try. I hope you like it so far! I've got tons of twists thrown in at every chapter, so never feel like you know what's going to happen! Also, after Chapter 3, all chapter titles will be named after an appropriate movie or song title. If you know the song, listen to it to feel the mood of the chapter! Did you know that German Chocolate has coconut in it? I didn't. I'm done blabbering now. Have a good day and me, Katatonic will see you next Wednesday or this Saturday, or me, Kat, I'll see you on Friday!**

**Read and Review? Pretty please? With icicle daggers on top?**


	2. Ice and Wind Don't Mix

**I know I just posted yesterday, but I'm super excited, and so to kick off the season of Snowfall, I took the liberty of writing this chapter. This is not lots of dialogue, but mostly fighting and action. Hope you enjoy it! I don't know if I was descriptive enough in describing the battle… oops! Spoiler! Read now, before I give anything else away.**

**Disclaimer: Vanessa Winters belongs to Aquamarine427, Violet Snow and Jake Merciful belong to Dreams of the Darkness, Landon Reese belongs to… me I guess, Jet Williams and Candice Knox belong to WingedHero540, and Lee Shannon belongs to CheersToTheFreakinWeekend. I also don't own Max, Fang, Iggy, the Gasman, Ella, Angel, Nudge, or Dr. Martinez.**

**Note: Umm. Not really anything. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: Ice and Wind Don't Mix

_Max POV_

"Are you sure you packed everything? Toothbrush? Extra clothing? Knife if everything gets a little hairy? I wish we had more time…" my mom fretted. It was the first time that anyone had been really concerned if I was prepared, so I wasn't used to it.

"Yeah, mom. I'm good. Give Ella my best," I hugged her. Ella was unaware of our valiant quest to find the mutants like us and she was at school now. The flock had backpacks filled with things that we would need for our trip to where we were going. The news wasn't helpful in giving us an area where the video was taken, but the Internet was. Kids talked about it constantly and I was sick of it. I looked around at the house and hoped we would be back soon, in one piece. I know it was a secret, but I couldn't help but notice Dr. Martinez slip a chocolate chip cookie into my backpack.

"Are we almost to Colorado?" Nudge whined.

"It's only been five minutes!" Iggy complained.

"But Colorado's close to Arizona." I sighed.

"Yes we're almost there." Everyone cheered. Fang put on an extra speed boost to catch up with me.

"Where in Colorado will we look?" he asked.

"I don't know. We can fly. We have a telepath. We'll find them."

"Who's to say they weren't fugitives and in California by now?" he asked. I scowled.

"We have to bet that they are still in Colorado," I said.

"Is that the border?" Gazzy asked, pointing below us. I looked down and saw cars and roads swerving along.

"Looks like it," I said.

"This is where our house was," Iggy said quietly. "Before it got destroyed by the Erasers."

"And us," Gazzy added.

"We'll stay the night at the cliff where it used to be," I promised. We began to descend into a thick forest when my stomach growled. As soon as we took to the air, I ate my cookie, and flying burns food fast, so we ate pretty much everything we packed without planning to.

"First, food," Fang said. After we landed, we walked along a trail until seeing a rundown supermarket. We walked in, keeping our heads down from the security camera. The kids danced down the candy aisle, while Fang went with Iggy to buy some water.

"I want Hershey's!"

"I vote gummies. They last longer!"

"No they do not!" the kids began to argue loudly in the store before I went over to shut them up.

"It doesn't matter, we aren't getting candy anyway," I said. They began to protest, but Angel sensed that I would cave in and buy some anyway so she led them off to go look at the toys that we would never get. I picked up the Hershey's and the gummies and tried to see which one Nudge liked best. Was she the one who wanted the gummies? Or was it Angel? I couldn't keep up anymore. I looked up, maybe to ask Angel when a new customer came in, picking up random fruit and then heading to the meat aisle and ordering three pounds of turkey, beef, and ham. It's like she was feeding a bear or something. As she turned to pay, I recognized her immediately as Beanie Girl from the video! We were in the right spot. I gathered up the flock and pointed her out to them. She didn't seem to shy away from the security cameras as she headed out.

"That was her? She has nice hair. I wonder if I could get hair like that…" Nudge said.

"Your hair is fine," I said, patting her head. We paid and left just in time to see her driving away in a Land Rover, similar to ones we fought Erasers in, back in the day before they became high-tech. I had everyone carry at least one grocery bag before taking off and following her from the sky. I was surprised when she took a sudden right turn into the secret road into the woods that took us to the house. We followed her for five minutes before we saw the cliff where our house used to be. It was pretty, and had definitely shrunk a bit. Other than that, it hadn't changed. Besides the fact that there was a high-tech house standing perfectly where our house used to be.

_Vanessa POV_

I went back into the house, still ticked at Violet for arguing with me like that. I was leader! I was to lead them! Being a leader wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. After leaving the store, I felt like I was being watched, which wasn't too new, but it was being watched all the same. When I entered the living room, I saw Jake was not on the couch anymore, probably went to bed, and Violet was watching some ghost haunting stories on television. Landon was on the computer, watching the cameras from all angles. Jet was sharpening his nails with a scratching post and Lee was splayed across the chair, reading.

"Got your meat," I said, putting the food in the fridge and pantry.

"Thanks, Nessa," Landon said, not prying his eyes away from the computer. I made some hot chocolate and offered some to him. He took it and sipped it, tapping his fingers on the mug while watching it. He set the mug down suddenly, just as I was getting into the show.

"Someone's here," he announced. Violet muted the TV, Lee put down her book and Jet stopped scratching. "They just appeared out front, coming from the top of the screen, like they were landed." I cursed in Spanish and put my hot chocolate down too.

"They probably have a chopper around here somewhere," I said, standing up. "Lee you stay here and watch the footage. If things get intense, get out here _rapido_," I said. When I get frustrated, I sometimes speak Spanish words, so don't get too confused. The orphanage where I was raised for five years spoke Spanish, so I learned too. "Landon, Violet, and Jet, come with me. Leave Jake be, he'll only screw it up for us." As much as Violet didn't like orders, she wouldn't back away from a fight. We all put on our jackets as I pulled on my beanie and Jet put on his gloves.

"Let's go meet them," I said. I opened up the door and stepped out onto the dying grass. I tilted my head one way, to see if I could catch a noise.

"Violet, do a perimeter search. Eagle style," I added. Violet nodded before shaping into an eagle and taking off. Landon went around the back and Jet went around the other side, and I stayed in the front, watching every detail of the trees and the slopes. Someone tapped my shoulder and I looked, expecting Violet or Landon or Jet, but all that met me was a fist. I was knocked flat to the ground, seeing stars and unable to move or breathe for a moment.

"You were in that video," the girl above me said. I was in pain, but got to my feet.

"What video?" I asked. She went to throw another punch, but I blocked. She then swung her leg around for a strong roundhouse kick. I ducked, jumped, and hit her squarely in the stomach with both my feet. She fell against the wall of my house. I breathed heavily as the cold outlined my breath. But I wasn't cold. I went to go attack again when someone tackled me from the side.

"Max!" someone yelled and four people ran up to the girl. I struggled to my feet, but was held down as the person who tackled me stayed on top. I swung blindly, but he caught my fist threw it down. He got up, holding my arms behind me, pushing me towards the group. A tall blonde boy turned to look at me, unblinking. He aimed to punch me when the miracle happened. Landon, fast as light, socked him in the side. He fell over and chaos broke loose. The boy holding me was then tackled by Landon as Jet showed up. He threw off his gloves and crouched down in a cat-like position. Landon let his tail loose to keep balance in fighting the boy who held me. I attacked the girl, Max, from earlier while the guy Landon took out was fighting with Jet. The smaller, younger ones were doing their part to annoy me as best they could. Kicking at me, punching at me until they knocked me over. They began to hold me down, while a short, blonde girl stood over me, staring into my eyes.

_You obey me now_, I heard a voice say. What was happening? I slowly saw Jet and Landon getting overpowered by their opponents as well. That's when Violet showed up. She must have been circling the house and saw the commotion. She was an eagle as she soared down, but transformed into a ferocious, wild, rabid Violet as she landed in the snow.

"Off. Of. My. Friend!" she spit, tearing Max off of Jet. Max turned to fight, but only found herself. She stared in awe as her identical twin smiled at her before kicking her into the snow. Max got to her feet, yelled,

"Lift off!" Suddenly, all the enemies spread wings. They lifted off and soared upward and as if plotting a battle plan, they circled for a few minutes.

"Thanks," Jet gasped, rubbing the cuts and wounds that he had received. Violet said nothing, and that was nothing unusual. She never did. Then, their huge battle attack began. They swarmed down, one by one, punching and kicking at us, knowing we couldn't reach them. I even tried jumping, but they rose up higher, avoiding my touch with ease. I saw the other bird in the sky, but ignored it, desperately trying to gather enough sense to grab one and bring them to the earth. The bird began to descend fast, aiming at us like an arrow and I knew we were in for it, until I saw who it was. Lee Shannon slammed into the ground, body poised and uninjured, in a pose that reminded me of a super hero.

"What's happening here?' she asked sarcastically as the dark tall guy that held me 'hostage' behind her aimed for a kick at her head. She ducked as if having eyes on the back of her head, and lunged for him. He flew up an inch, but was surprised when she rose up to meet him, wings pumping in all their glory. She pleasured his expression when she socked him in the gut. She flew down, grabbing me and carrying me.

"When I say go, throw me at them! When I knock them down, I rely on you to catch me. The pack will take care of them below!" I yelled over the wind that rose as we flew higher, chasing after the people who rose higher as well. I was well lined up with the little, blonde girl and easily within reach.

"Go!" I yelled. Lee threw me with all her strength and I latched onto her ankle, we stayed afloat for a bit before she cried out and began to fall. I took off my jacket as we tumbled down and knotted her wings onto her. Lee caught me successfully as Violet caught the girl below. They crowded around her as we went back up, only for Lee to be slammed into my Max. She dropped me and I began to freefall. Slamming into branch after branch, I extended my hands to hold on to something. I gripped around a branch that snapped underneath my weight as I neared the ground. I closed my eyes, preparing for the thud of unconsciousness when somebody leaped up and grabbed me, diving into the snow with me. I pried my eyes open to stare into the blue eyes of Landon. Lee landed next to us, a fractured or dislocated arm hanging to her side. They also landed across the clearing from us. Jet hissed as he prepared to pounce. I pulled out my icicle dagger and held it to the girl we captured's throat.

"Angel!" someone yelled from across the way.

"Stay where you are!" I said as Max tried to walk over. "What do you want from us?"

"You're experiments from Itex. Aren't you?" she said, crossing her arms. I stared at her for a moment. I released Angel as she ran back to her friends.

"Why did you do that?" Violet hissed in my left ear.

"She's just a girl, Vi," I snapped. "They're on the run, like us. If we're to make enemies with anyone, it's to be the people who did this to us, not the people who want the same people's heads. An enemy of my enemy is my friend," I said. I looked at Max who nodded. And thus began our relationship with the flock.

**I originally thought Vanessa's part was too long but it turns out they're almost the exact same length. I decided to add a bit of Vanessa history and I think it would be interesting to have her blurt random Spanish. There will be translations of course, because she's the only one in the story who speaks fluent Spanish. Sorry if I tweaked her a bit. If you noticed, I'm actually titling them now. It adds… professionality to it. Which is not a word. Thanks Microsoft Word.**

**Read and Review? Hershey's or Gummies?**


	3. FightOrFlight Response

**Yay! Snowfall! I'm tired and I have no intros. BUT I GOT A NEW TWITTER! KatofFlorida! Follow me for updates and garbage! NOW A…**

**Disclaimer: Vanessa Winters belongs to Aquamarine427, Violet Snow and Jake Merciful belong to Dreams of the Darkness, Landon Reese belongs to… me I guess, Jet Williams and Candice Knox belong to WingedHero540, and Lee Shannon belongs to CheersToTheFreakinWeekend. I also don't own Max, Fang, Iggy, the Gasman, Ella, Angel, Nudge, or Dr. Martinez.**

Chapter 3: Fight-or-Flight Response

_Max POV_

I knew it wasn't correct to attack innocent people, but we didn't know what they were capable of. They could've been completely savage! I was planning on calmly addressing the issue, but the Voice announced at the wrong time, _Sorry Max_. Then proceeded to punch Beanie Girl in the face. I was going to exclaim, "Why did you do that?" but that would've made me seem crazier than I already was. I sighed and went on with the conversation, pointing out the video, before her friends showed up and the huge blown up battle began. It seemed we would win, or I would be able to stop the fight, when another avian girl slammed into the snow and got up gracefully to her feet. Things got hairy and they kidnapped Angel for a moment. Beanie Girl threatened Angel with her icicle sword for a while, and I was wondering why Angel didn't just control them, you know. With her mind. Then, Beanie Girl looked at us before releasing her to us.

"Landon," she said to the tall boy who tackled me earlier. "Go get medical supplies." Landon nodded, but I saw a hint of question is his eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked, her icy blue eyes boring into me. I considered fake names, but they were mutants too.

"Max. Maximum Ride," I said.

"I'm Nudge! I'm an empath and I can control metal! See?" Nudge raised her arm and the girl with slightly purple hair's necklace lifted off of her neck. She snarled and I swear I saw her purple eye spin around in her head.

"I'm the Gasman! Gazzy for short," he said.

"Iggy," Iggy said calmly, like he had done stuff like this his whole life, and if you know anything about us, we haven't.

"Fang," he said quietly as usual.

"You already met Angel," I said with a bit of sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Now who are _you_?"

"I'm Vanessa," Beanie Girl said, dusting snow off of her jacket. I noticed she didn't seem to be shivering at all in the thirty degree weather up here.

"I'm Jet," a spiky-haired blonde guy said, removing his gloves and revealing some claws and wiggling them intrepidly.

"Violet," Purple-hair said, practically spitting out her name.

"Lee," the avian girl said, extending her wings before folding them on her back.

"Landon's…" Vanessa began.

"Here," he said, carrying a first-aid kit and some other junk. Vanessa opened it up and pulled out a needle. I felt Fang stiffen beside me. She filled it with liquid and flicked it to rid the vial of air bubbles. Violet grabbed a bandage and wrapped it around a gash above her forehead. Vanessa took the needle and injected it into her arm. She gritted her teeth and pulled the needle out. Her cuts and bruises suddenly vanished.

"How did you do that?" Nudge asked enthusiastically.

"Jet's formula," she said.

"Super secret," he said dully. Landon took out some ointment and a couple of bandages and walked towards us.

"I don't have a needle," he whispered to Fang. How did he know that Fang hated needles? Mind-reader as well, I suppose. He squirted the ointment onto two fingers and spread them across Fang's forearm, where he had been slashed by Jet's claws. As Landon did this, I saw something shifting beneath his skin.

"It's okay, they're retractable," he said.

"But what…"

"Claws," he said, sliding them out, then in to bandage Fang up.

"I think you can take it from here," he said, handing me the bottle and roll of bandages and backed off. Knows what's good for him. I looked across the clearing to hear Violet arguing with Vanessa.

"Could've killed her easily, Nessa. Slaughter them all and no one will know we're here. We have the upper hand! We're faster than them!"

"But they're like us. Specifically Lee, but they're experiments too. When Max punched me, she said she saw me in a video."

"What video?" another boy asked. He was taller than the rest and was particularly handsome.

"Go back to bed, Jake," Violet snarled.

"What happened?" he asked.

"While you were sleeping we had a battle with them," Jet said, pointing one gloved finger at us. He glared at us from across the way.

"Want me to kill 'em?"

"No! The solution to everything is not killing, Jake!" Lee exclaimed. Angel sneezed loudly and Nudge coughed, guess it was a bit cold. My breath billowed in the air as I tried to warm them up. Vanessa said something and Violet tried to argue, but Vanessa ignored her. She walked up to us, and looked me in the eye and said,

"Do you want to see the house?"

_Vanessa POV_

"I was just being hospitable, Vi. I'm not cold and hostile to everyone, like someone I know," I snapped, heating up six mugs of hot chocolate. I could tell from across the way that they were cold. The house was heated and if we wanted to befriend them, I had to do everything humanly possible to get them to like us.

"That's no excuse! What video are they talking about? Where are they from? What if they're FBI? What if they're scientists that are going to operate on us?" Violet was protesting. I sighed and pulled the mugs from the microwave. I put marshmallow bits in it and carried two out at a time. Violet followed me, still arguing.

"There!" Nudge cried. I glanced at the TV and saw myself. I dropped the mug in surprise, but Jet's cat-like reflexes caught it with ease.

"That's… that's…" I stammered.

"Us," Jake said. We all were completely silent. The effort I had put into keeping us far from anything that could harm me or my friends was unimaginable. Now, it was gone. They knew who we were. They saw Violet shapeshift underneath the Tiger-Woman. They saw Landon's speed and my icicle dagger. They knew too much. We had to relocate, but I couldn't imagine convincing the pack to move. We had put too much into our house for us to abandon it.

"What do we do?" Lee exclaimed, arms gripping the armrests like the last things on earth.

"We have do _something_," Violet said.

"No! They don't even know who we are!" Jake said.

"Neither do we," Violet retorted and left the room. Ever so dramatic.

"She's right, we barely know who we are. The basic questions of us. What's your name?" Landon said.

"Jet Williams," he said.

"Birthplace? Age? Parents' names? We know nothing!" Lee said. They turned to look at me, Max and her friends watching us like a tennis match.

"We have to find a better way to stay undercover. Then we can solve the problem of who we are and aren't. We've waited, what? Fifteen years and didn't care? We can survive another year," I said firmly. Violet came back in the room.

"We can't stay in Colorado. They know we're in the area. No cameras caught us leaving, airport, traffic cams, anything," she said, flopping on the chair next to Landon.

"We're not leaving the house! We can't! This is our home! I won't leave it behind," Jet said.

"Guys! We're not leaving the house, _comprende_?" I stomped my foot into the rug.

"Where do we go?"

"What do we do?"

"We have to leave it for a while. Like a vacation. Without the fun. We're going on a mission," Jet said quietly.

"We find whoever made us and take them down. We go from there," I said.

Max stepped forward.

"I agree," she said. "Itex created us, you might be different."

"Who's Itex?" Lee asked. Max smiled mischieviously.

"We'll find out soon." Then the windows shattered.

**AH! What a lovely chapter! I almost forgot about Jake, sleeping in the house… what a lazy bum. Anyway, I have to go to bed soon and I get Son of Neptune tomorrow! Yay! Also…**

**I JOINED NANOWRIMO! For those of you who don't know what it is, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. In the month of November, writers are challenged to write a 50000 word novel in the 30 allotted days! Going to be tough, so hang in there! If you want to join, or more info, go to a search engine like Google and type in 'NaNoWriMo' and click the first thing that comes up. Done jibber-jabbering now. **

**Read and Review? RIP Steve Jobs, creator of iPhone, iPods, and other various things from Apple. **


	4. Paralyzer

**Exciting Wednesday so far? It's about to get better! Unless you don't like action. In fact, you knew something had to **_**happen**_**, hence the word **_**action**_**. So I hope you like action! And for my actionees…**

**The Avengers Trailer came out! Yesterday, but it did! Iron Man being himself and conflict between Captain America and Iron Man! I'm getting all fangirl-y. On with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Vanessa Winters belongs to Aquamarine427, Violet Snow and Jake Merciful belong to Dreams of the Darkness, Landon Reese belongs to… me I guess, Jet Williams and Candice Knox belong to WingedHero540, and Lee Shannon belongs to CheersToTheFreakinWeekend. I also don't own Max, Fang, Iggy, the Gasman, Ella, Angel, Nudge, or Dr. Martinez. Or the title of the Song Chapters, Paralyzer by Finger Eleven.**

Chapter 4: Paralyzer

_Max POV_

At least the mutants were being somewhat friendly, except for Jake, who I swear had some sort of snake tongue, and Violet the twisting-eye girl. I saw her do that, she blinked a couple of time and her purple eye moved in and out, like it was trying to focus, like they mixed her DNA with a camera. That would be pitiful, plenty of animals and you turn someone into a camera. They argued about leaving their house/formerly our house and had no idea where they were from, more or less who they were.

"We have to leave it for a while. Like a vacation. Without the fun. We're going on a mission," Jet said quietly.

"We find whoever made us and take them down. We go from there," Vanessa said.

I stepped forward.

"I agree," I said. "Itex created us, you might be different."

"Who's Itex?" Lee asked. I smiled mischieviously.

"We'll find out soon." The windows suddenly shattered flimsily and Nudge screamed. We all hit the floor and covered our heads to prevent invading glass shards.

"It's hurricane proof!" Landon yelled through the noise.

"How does this happen?" I yelled back. Then, Erasers, hybrid Erasers, stormed through the window. I was no psychic but I wasn't going down without a fight, and neither were these mutants. I jumped to my feet as Eraser Number 1 growled and stepped towards me. He lunged and he met my foot against his throat. He stumbled, but didn't fall. Meanwhile, Angel was getting one Eraser to slap his friend, and vice versa. Jet had pulled out his strange claws and was slitting the throats of every Eraser in sight. Fang was punching every Eraser in the gut, before kneeing its head and slamming them into the ground. Eraser Number 1 tried to get to his feet, but I held on, choking him as he gave me a strange form of a piggy-back ride. The Eraser seemed down for the count, but another Eraser tore me off his friend's back, like a Band-Aid. As he grinned evilly and lifted me up by my throat, he leaned forward to rip my stomach out when his smirk turned to surprise, then horror as he screamed in pain and crumpled to the floor. Vanessa stood behind his body, her icicle dagger tinged with Eraser blood. I nodded in thanks and she did nothing in response but give me a look that said _You're welcome_. For awhile, it seemed like we were winning, with twelve of us instead of originally six, before the remaining Erasers retreated through the broken windows.

"What. Were Those. Things?" Violet demanded.

"Erasers," I said. "Part-wolf, and now part-avian."

"How can they break the windows? They can sustain hurricanes," Lee pointed out.

"Enhanced strength, most likely. They've been at it again," I growled. The whitecoats were experimenting for more tortured lives.

"It isn't over," Angel said suddenly.

"Well, they would come back," Iggy started.

"No. They're coming back right now, their minds are moving a hundred miles an hour," she said.

"That's not good."

"We need to get to open space," Vanessa said sternly.

"But stay in sight of someone. No one is to be taken by the Erasers again," I supplied.

"Have I made myself clear?" Vanessa and I said at the same time. I looked at her and she looked back at me.

"Great minds think alike," she said simply, before leading her pack of mutants through the window.

_Vanessa POV_

I had cuts and bruises and my energy was leaving my body with every breath, but I was defending my house and my pack. Whatever it took, I'd do it, if it meant saving them. I acted like I didn't know any of this, but I did know. I remembered. I could see it clearly, myself as a murderer for wild experiments like Max and her flock. I was sent off on missions to find them and if they didn't comply, I was to kill them. It was a horrid memory and it was quite a long time ago, which would explain why I didn't remember it until now. Erasers, whitecoats, Itex, everything. I didn't want my pack to think of me as a brutal killer. I would try to explain, but if someone killed another innocent living thing, you wouldn't listen either. Brainwashed. I had been delusioned to think it was the right thing, to free the world from the 'dangerous' experiments who escaped successfully only to be flayed my me. I was a monster.

I crawled through our 'everything-proof' window that was now 'everything-except-Erasers-proof' window. Not quite as catchy. I could see the Erasers regrouping and multiplying. Hummers and helicopters swarmed around like bees, but more like wolves stalking around for the kill. We were outnumbered by a lot, and I'm certain Max knew it. Everyone did, just no one dared to voice it aloud. Except Violet, I guess.

"We're screwed," Violet said.

"Come at me bro!" Jake yelled, catching the attention of a bigger Eraser in the front. He growled, which was probably wolf for _I'm going to eat you!_

"Shut it," Max grumbled, whacking Jake on the side of the head. I had misjudged her.

"Any serious injuries? Can anyone even heal?" I asked.

"I heal fast," Lee supplied.

"All avians do I guess. So do we," Iggy said.

"Which leaves us non-birds to fend for ourselves," I said.

"Gotcha," Landon said, eyes focused intently on the enemy slowly advancing.

"I'll go get some weapons," Jake said before disappearing into the house. Coward. The first Eraser attacked, then the battle was a whir. Slicing, hacking, kicking, punching, leaping… everything I could do was put into the battle. We cut through the Eraser ranks like weedwhackers, but they remained calm, adding more to replace a single Eraser.

"Oh Nessa…" someone said calmly. Not a voice I recognized and some distance away. I turned snarling and saw the main Eraser that Jake taunted holding a knife to Landon's throat.

"What do you want?" I hissed.

"You," he said. I was startled, confused for a moment, before regaining posture.

"I'm not gonna be your slave again," I said, my breaths heaving in the cold air, though it didn't bother me.

"Again?" Landon asked.

"Silence!" the Eraser said, pressing the knife to Landon's throat. "All we want, is for you to come with us, and we'll leave your friends alone. We won't have to kill them, or torture them slowly. Including Maximum Ride, which as we have established, as impossible to catch and control. Look around, Vanessa. Do you see a victory coming?" I glanced around, seeing Violet turning into an Eraser to match them, but for every Eraser dead, two more took their place. We would not win this.

"Don't do it, Vanessa!" Landon risked. The Eraser did nothing but stared expectantly at me. I guess he expected me to go without a fight.

"All you have to do is come with us. We'll retreat and leave them alone. We don't need them. We only need our assassin back."

"Assassin?" Landon asked.

"She didn't tell you? She was an assassin, our very best a long time ago. Isn't that right?"

"That's behind me. I was brainwashed!" I protested, but saw no win to the argument. I was a murderer, through and through.

"I'll give you to the count of three before I slit his throat. One…"

"Don't do it!" Landon said.

"Two…" the Eraser warned.

"I'm not letting you die!" I retorted.

"Three!"

"No! I'll… I'll go!" I yelled. The Eraser stopped, smiled, and sheathed his knife, still holding Landon back.

"I knew you'd see things my way. Captain always wins," he said, pointing to himself as he said 'Captain'. He shoved Landon away and grabbed me, yanking me closer to the tree. A big tear slid down my cheek as I looked at Landon pitifully. He was thinking how I was an assassin, how he could never trust me again. The Eraser hauled me away and the last thing I heard before the anesthesia hit was "Retreat!" by the Erasers. _I kept them safe. I did the right thing_, I thought before I fell asleep.

**Sorry Max's part was shorter than Vanessa's, and a bit of Vanessa made-up on the spot history lesson! ** **It will all tie in together in the end. And I have homework and it's Taco Night! Nom nom! I made you hungry didn't I? I know that because I made myself hungry. I won't go into detail, but you get the idea. **

**Read and Review?**


	5. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

**I do say, I got a review from James Patterson. So if you're reading this JP, and you're not someone pretending to be him, Max will be the SARCASM QUEEN from now on, promise.**

Chapter 5

_Max POV_

Almost as quickly as the battle began, it ended. The Erasers howled in the trees and ran into their vehicles and choppers. We would regroup and attack again, before they got away.

"They took Vanessa!" the boy Landon exclaimed, kicking up snow as he went towards us.

"Oh, horror. The world's going to end," Violet said sarcastically.

"Why?" Lee cried, her voice sounding heartbroken. What would happen to my flock if I was taken.

"DIE!" someone yelled. Jake ran out with a sniper rifle, rigged with some grenade launcher. He pulled the trigger and a grenade flew off, hitting one of the chopper squarely in the side. We watched in awe as it exploded in midair, smoke, ash, and flames polluting the Colorado sky.

"Get down!" I hollered, covering Angel who was closest to me as the shrapnel plummeted in the snow. Angel and I were buried for awhile, underneath the snow.

"Do you think this is like Antarctica?" Angel asked.

"No, people know we're here, they'll find us eventually. And last I checked, you weren't searching for penguins."

"They're cute!"

"They're a burden! It's bad enough we have Mr. Prim and Proper to lug around half the time."

"Total?" Angel asked.

"At least he got married," I said. The snow was lifted off of us as Jake yelled to the others. He went to help me out, but I gave him Angel instead. I climbed out on my own.

"Now they're getting away!" I exclaimed, wanting to slap Jake.

"You have less to attack now!" he retorted. I gave him a Max Specialty Glare before launching into the sky, the flock and Lee not far behind.

"Which one is she in?" I yelled to Angel.

"I…" she started. She closed her eyes and pointed to one chopper a few miles ahead. "That one!"

"Okay! Go get…" the helicopter closest to us spun and I saw an Eraser controlling it in the pilot's seat. The flying Erasers jumped out and swarmed to us. I ducked underneath an Eraser swing and kicked him in the gut. He slammed into the helicopter as a large eagle went overhead. It landed on the helicopter and suddenly, it was Violet, stabbing a sharp stick in the roof of the flying vehicle. I noticed Jet and Landon scaling the trees and preparing to jump all the way from the tree to where we were. I had no doubt they would make it, no matter what. I concentrated on helping Violet take control of the chopper.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled over the propeller buzz that swung over our heads every second, forcing us to stay low.

"You need help with this, whether you like it or not!" I yelled back.

"I can handle this myself, bird freak!"

"You can't do anything compared to me, Frankenstein's bride!"

"Shut it before I punch your face in!"

"Let me help so I won't have to push you off this helicopter! Now MOVE!" I shoved her slightly to the side as I readied my fist to break through it when a lion attacked me. It stood on top of me, pinning me down. It roared furiously, and so did I. I reached up and started choking the lion, then pushing it up with combat boot. The lion tumbled off the helicopter. I was leaned over to catch her, but a razor-sharp talon almost cut me in half as a falcon soared up in the sky. I punched as fast as I could before Violet swooped down again, aiming for me. I heard the whiz of air, and before I was pierced with Violet's beak, I leaped off the chopper and spread my wings, flying back up to see Violet ripping through the top of the helicopter and landing successfully in the cockpit.

_Mission accomplished, _I thought.

_You have yet to save the world, Maximum, the mission is not yet complete_.

"Shut up," I hissed as the helicopter swiveled out of control.

"Look out!" I heard someone say. Jet leaped from the tree and was now clinging on to the ridge in front of the flying machine. He leaped up with dexterity as he broke the glass containing Violet and the Eraser.

"Who took Vanessa?" he roared, shoving Violet into the wall, and holding the Eraser by the throat. The Eraser, unable to speak, could not respond, which only angered Jet. And since the only one who was flying the helicopter was the Eraser, it was no longer able to control it. I jumped in and twisted the wheel-thing away from the trees. It did a three-sixty before tilting off in the direction. I glanced behind me to see Violet leaping on Jet's back, like a piggy-back ride, and attempting to rip the Eraser free. Jet released the Eraser, but reached up and flipped Violet over. Before she hit the metal of the flooring, she turned into Vanessa. He gasped, stumbling backwards into me, making my hand hit a button that turned the helicopter towards the trees.

"No, no!" I yelled. "NUDGE!" Nudge could figure out how to reverse it easily. She flew in and touched the control panel before hitting the button next to it. The helicopter took back into my jerky control and turned away. One by one, everyone pile into the helicopter, Jet still wide-eyed.

"He becomes aggressive when under stress," Landon said.

"Ya think?" I said sarcastically, thinking of the murder he was about to commit to the Eraser.

"Where did they take Vanessa?" Landon asked.

"Itex! They want their assassin back!" he exclaimed.

"Assassin?" I asked, turning the helicopter back to the house. The Eraser didn't respond, probably because ehe was afraid of Jet, but also because he jumped out of the window and into the snow.

"Well, there goes our evidence," Violet said, watching the Eraser plummet to his death.

_Vanessa POV_

"Vanessa!" I looked up, only to see myself standing in a strange black abyss. Jet was standing on the other end. I tried to move, tried to speak, but I was unable.

"Where are you?" he wailed. Could he see me? Then, the black melted away like peeling paint and revealed a similar helicopter to the one I was in. I watched in horror as my packmates tried to comfort him. Max and Violet were watching something over the helicopter. The one who was missing was Jake, and I wondered if they took him as well. Like they took me. My past had caught up with me, and I was paying the price. For those confused, when I was young, which, by the way, I swore I was eighteen, but judging the memories, I looked more eighteen then I did now, therefore, I must be older than previously thought. I was an assassin, killing escapee mutants because that's what I was trained to do, the only way the scientists gave me food or shelter, or electrocuted me. I remembered the Chair, oh I remembered that chair. It looked high-tech, with bolts for arms and legs. The dials on the side pointed to the amount of shock given to the person sitting. I remembered the ripping tightness of the strap that held me down against my waist. The first time I was sat there, I didn't know what was going on. I had been given a chair so I sat willingly. They put it on as hard as they could, the tearing jolts through my body like waves on the shore. You never experience real pain unless you sit in the Chair. I remembered escaping, being sent out on a mission to destroy, destroy Jet Williams specifically, but when I saw him and the true meaning of the fugitive, I ran. I went as far away from Itex as I could, never telling anyone about my past. It had been so long ago that the memory had been wiped from my brain until now. The word 'Itex' triggered it and now I was facing the consequences. I had no doubt that the Chair and I would reunite, under forced circumstances. I was trying to think of battle plans, maybe someway to re-escape, but I watched my pack instead. They were scared and I could read their thoughts.

_When are we going to see her again? She holds us together, and now Jet's falling apart. We have to find her, no matter what it takes, _Landon thought. I nodded mentally, proud of him for keeping such a level-head at a time like this, but I did not like the 'whatever it takes'. I did not want my pack to sacrifice themselves for me, just because of me.

_Maybe now that she's gone, I can get some peace and quiet without that dim-headed freak show around. Landon can take over and we can banish her forever. Ugh. What am I thinking? No matter how airy she can be, she's still our leader and we'll find her, _Violet thought. She had very conflicting thoughts, hating me, then regretting me, then back to hating me, then missing me. I was just as confused as she was.

_Why Vanessa? What did the Eraser say about the assassin? Landon said he knew… what's happening? Has everything we've ever perceived about Vanessa wrong? What has she done? _Lee asked. I was asking myself these questions. How would they trust me again when they find out the truth about me? Why have they come back now? Maybe they just managed to find me…? I was certain that the video Max and her siblings were talking about, how they found us, was the reason that the Erasers came back.

_VANESSA. IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, RESPOND! _An alarming, intruding voice said. After the sense of shock and surprise faded, I responded.

_Who are you?_

_Angel. I'm a telepath and so much more. _

_How old are you?_

_Six. I'm with Max. Look at your vision. _I looked and saw a familiar blonde girl staring at me. _Hi. _She waved and everyone around her looked confused, looking where I was, not being able to see me, and then looking back at Angel.

_How did you find me? Can you save me?_

_My powers only extend to a certain point, and you're getting there. I won't be able to talk much longer. We're trying to fly the chopper back to your house to pick up Jake. Then we're on our way._

_What happened to Jet? _I asked worriedly.

_Nervous breakdown. Do you remember how long you were an assassin?_

_Did Landon tell?_

_No, mind-reader, _she said, pointing to her head. I nodded.

_Five or six years, as far as I can tell. I get bits and pieces of that memory back. _Then, suddenly, Angel disappeared and Jeopardy! came on. I gave my vision a confused look. Angel appeared again, fuzzier this time.

_What's happening?_

_Losing contact! _

_Keep my pack safe, okay? Don't let anyone out of your sight, especially Jet!_

_Alright, _she gave me a concerned look, much too mature for a six-year old. Angel disappeared and I was back in the deep black abyss of my dreams.

**Okay! I hoped you liked this chapter! I have math homework to do and Survivor is on later, and I also have icecream.**

**Read and Review please!**


	6. Black Keys

**Thanks to all for reviewing! And special thank you to RedWolf for submitting Zenith to me! I needed more antagonists! So, without further ado, Snowfall, Chapter 6.**

Black Keys

_Max POV_

I gave up trying to work the stupid helicopter. Seriously, how the 'H' 'E' double-toothpicks am I supposed to fly something that doesn't even have wings? I let Nudge take over, with Jet sitting in the co-pilot seat. Jet actually ripped a huge hole in the side of the chopper, angry at whatever he was angry at. Violet slapped him around a bit, but I don't think it helped. Jet quieted down, at least somewhat docile, and sat down, willing to help Nudge fly the helicopter. Then, Angel started smiling and waving at nothing. We asked her a million times, "What are you doing?" but she ignored us. Finally she looked away from the portion of wall she couldn't look away from.

"I talked to Vanessa," she said. Jet broke from his peaceful form and starting yelling.

"WHERE IS SHE?"

"She's in a helicopter, miles from here. Captain, an Eraser, drugged her. They're taking her to Itex now," she replied simply. She turned to me.

"Is there hot chocolate on here?"

"I don't think so," Jake piped up. We picked him up from the sides of the house, where he was waiting for us to return, you know, without a helicopter.  
>"Why are we even taking the helicopter?" Iggy asked.<p>

"Because not _all _of us can fly," Lee said, flexing her tawny wings.

"It's also faster. Less breaks in between," I said.

"So, where am I going exactly?" Nudge interrupted.

"Follow the chopper with Vanessa," Violet said, like it was obvious. Nudge squinted.

"I don't…"

"Right there! I can see really far, okay?" she snapped.

"No need to be a snob," I said fiercely. "We don't have room to fight. There's eleven of us on this tiny chopper with no windshield."

"Maybe we could fly faster if we got rid of some big-mouth avian," Violet said coldly. Before I could reply with a scorching retort, Lee jumped to my defense.

"Leave her alone! She's an avian, like me, and there's not others like us! We need all the help we can get to get Vanessa back!" she pleaded. Fang chuckled from where he melted into the shadows.

"How long do you think it'll take to… get to Itex?" Landon asked.

"Depends on how far the helicopter goes, which can't be far. They might run low on fuel," Jet yelled over the sudden rumbling of the engine.

"Uh oh," Nudge said.

"'Uh oh'? What's 'uh oh'?" I asked, leaning over the top of the pilot seat, over Nudge's head.

"Speaking of fuel, we're running out," Fang said.

"Are we?" I asked, a bit timidly.

"Well, the helicopter is rapidly descending, so that's a yes," Iggy said. "I can feel it." Violet cursed. She turned into a large falcon and she twitched her beady eye at me.

"I'm guessing that means 'get everyone out'," I said. "Every avian, grab a… non-avian." Fang grabbed Jet, Iggy held onto Landon's shirt collar, I grasped Jake's arm.

"Running out of air to drop!" Nudge exclaimed.

"U&A!" I yelled, spreading my wings and jumping out of the broken windshield. Everyone followed, doing their best to keep the other mutants in the air. Violet circled over head, cawing loudly before diving down towards us. With no one controlling the helicopter, it swerved out of control before slamming into the pine tree forest. There was groaning of the tearing metal and the shower of snow droplets that pierced us like Eraser claws.

"How are we going to follow the helicopter now?" Iggy said. I stared off into the distance, watching night fall and the outline of the mountains fading.

_Iggy has asked an excellent question. How are you going to find Itex now?_ the Voice said.

_Vanessa POV_

After the strange brain-messaging with Angel, I woke up chained to a hospital bed. I squirmed vigorously, trying to break my bonds, but to no avail. A doctor came in, looked at me for a second before taking a few notes and leaving. He came in once every hour, I estimated, and everytime I tried to speak, my voice was gone. After his third time of visiting, I tried to talk as much as I could, by myself, to warm up my voice for when he came back.

"Where is she?" a gruff voice said outside. Captain.

"In there," someone said, who was relatively far away. The doors swung open and a handsome man came in, but I knew that he was my kidnapper, the ruiner of my life in the pack.

"How's the little fox doing?" he smirked. I growled at him.

"Where am I?"

"You should know this by now," he pouted. Itex. I knew I was in Itex. I could feel the memories surging through me.

"You do know. Welcome home," he grinned crookedly, spreading his arms to the small hallowed room I was trapped in. A wave of disgust flooded through me.

"My home is in Colorado," I snapped.

"We moved a bit, in the hours you… ah… slept." I remembered him drugging me vaguely.

"How come I don't remember you from last time I was here?" I changed the subject.

"I'm the newest, yet the best general in the league, so to speak." He reached over, and broke my chains.

_Mistake Number 1_, I thought. I punched him in the face before nimbly jumping out of the bed, kicking him swiftly in the side before running to the doors thirty feet away. I was certain I had dislocated his jaw. I had almost reached the doorknob when a strong shock was sent through my neck. I gasped, my legs giving out, and I fell, clutching my throbbing neck, only to find a shock collar strapped on tightly.

"You've got an arm on you," Captain said behind me. I couldn't look to see him, but I heard the sound of him popping his jaw back into it's proper place. "Shock collar. Latest installation on prisoners. Only on until we can discipline you."

"You… son.. of… a…" I choked out. My neck was still throbbing, making it hard to speak properly.

"Not my idea. Now we're going on a little tour of the place. Follow me or feel the pain you have now, five times more intense." Captain cheerfully hoisted me up from my spot on the tile and dragged me through the doors. There were offices lining the sides, each filled with one or two scientists, on a computer or peeking through a microscope. We turned at the end of the hall and I saw the horrors, that as a matter-of-fact, had changed. There were huge glass tanks, at least the size of a large closet, and each contained a single experiment. There must've been twenty lined up in a row. The containers were filled with a strange blue liquid, and a human being, or mutant, sleeping, or dead, inside with tubes hooked up to their arms and a mask covering their mouths, like an oxygen tube.

"What is this?" I asked furiously.

"This is the experimentation room," Captain said. A teenage boy was at a control panel by Tank Number 14.

"Hey Zenith," Captain said. The teenager had a grey hair and silver eyes, like he had aged seventy years instead of only seventeen.

"Captain," he said, nodding at the Eraser. I could see in his eyes that Zenith despised Captain with all of his heart.

"This is a lovely tour, but I think I'd rather go back to my 'home' in the bed," I piped up. Captain smiled, tossed a remote at Zenith, who caught it, that probably controlled my shock collar. He shoved me towards him, I stumbled, but did not fall.

"This," Captain said, turning to walk away, now speaking over his shoulder. "Is your new home. Tank Number 14."

**I hope you liked this lovely chapter! I'm a bit sick, but now that I'm writing, I feel better! Read and Review? And maybe submit an OC scientist to work on Vanessa in Tank Number 14? Gracias!**


	7. Animal

**Sorry it's late! Had NaNoWriMo and homework! Sorry if it's not the longest to my ability!**

**Zenith and Dr. Xiu belongs to RedWolf11! Chapter is 'Animal' by Neon Trees.**

Chapter 7: Animal

_Max POV_

I woke up to the smell of bacon and freshly scrambled eggs. I sat up and saw the rest of the group sleeping and Iggy and Landon sitting by the fire, cooking breakfast. I glanced around, trying to figure out what time it was.

"They'll all be up and hungry eventually," Landon said. Iggy nodded. It seemed like Landon was trying to make friends with a strangely solemn Iggy.

"Ig?" I said. He turned and he actually seemed enthused to see me, like Landon and his buddies weren't worthy of his speech. Diva.

"Max!"

"Can I… talk to you for a sec?" I said. I got up and trudged through the snow, out of superhuman earshot.

"What's up?"

"No need to give them the cold shoulder," I snapped immediately, stunned at how oblivious he was to his rudeness.

"Who?"

"Landon!" I exclaimed. "They just want their leader back and I'm going to help them. You guys can go fly somewhere else and be completely selfish, or you can befriend these mutants we went out here to find. Choose one," I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Uh, when I speak, I speak for the rest of the flock and we're taking Option A, being selfish." He turned to go back to camp.

"No!" I grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Think rationally, Ig. When I said 'choose one', I meant 'choose the right one'." He paused.

"Listen, Max, I know you think you're being leaderly and deciding what's right or wrong, but you only speak for yourself. The kids, Fang, and I, we don't want the same things. I'm sorry Max, but we're leaving."

"Oh no, you are NOT pinning this on me. Let's look at this from the outside perspective shall we? This girl is trying to help saved a kidnapped girl from a torture lab…"

"Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration…" Iggy said. I glared at him.

"You remember what it's like there. It's a torture lab." He scowled and I continued.

"Whereas her family is trying to leave her because they don't want to make new friends. What would be the right option?"

"Duh, leaving her, because…"

"Outside POV, Ig," I sighed. He frowned.

"Saving her would be the right thing to do," he grumbled.

"Right," I said. "Now we're in agreement. Leader knows best. Since you obviously can't tell right or wrong, you're not a leader. Fang's too quiet to be a leader. And heaven forbid if anyone under 13 becomes leader!" He sighed and went back to camp. I followed him and kicked up some snow. Were they going blind? I was losing my grip on them. They were becoming old enough to think they knew it all, and of course, that scared me. I didn't want them to start choosing the wrong decisions. Everyone was up and nibbling on their breakfasts. I plopped down next to Fang and watched the flames flicker up and down. It was a silent breakfast and I really needed to tell Fang what was happening throughout the flock. I stood up and motioned for Fang to follow me into the woods.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Iggy. He's worrying me."

"Is it because he's giving our new friends the cold shoulder?"

"Yes!"

"It's just a stage, he'll get over it."

"But," I started.

"Don't worry," he reassured me.

"No! I have to worry because he clearly told me that he wanted to leave these mutants alone to find their leader tortured at Itex!" I burst out as he was leaving.

"He did?"

"Yeah! He even said that's 'what the flock wants'! He told me that he was going to leave! Why? He agreed to stay, but I don't think he meant it." Fang stayed silent for a moment.

"GET OFF ME!" Lee's anguished cry sounded over the tree.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"Sounds like…"

"UP AND AWAY!" Iggy yelled. Suddenly, four dark, winged figures took to the skies.

"They're getting away!" Fang shot out his wings and leaped up to the sky, climbing up with them. I ran back to camp. Violet was hurling flaming sticks at them while Jake was collapsed on the ground, Jet was scaling the tree above, and Landon was racing underneath them, almost a mile away now.

"What happened?" I asked anxiously.

"_They _happened. You're friends! They stole the food that Landon made and hit Lee on the head, so now she's unconscious and they took her with them!" Violet spit out, forming into a fire-breathing dragon and spewing small flames. I paced over to Jake and opened up his eyes. Was he dead? His eyes were black, instead of their usual blue color. Suddenly, a figure began falling from the sky, soaring towards us. Angel landed on the snow in front of us, walked robotically up to me.

"Max," she said. "It's me, Jake." I looked at Jake's crumpled form to the six-year old in front of me.

"What?"

"I can possess people. Angel won't even know that it's happening," he/she said. "She was the only one who wasn't filled with thought that I could borrow." I stared at him. "I'm losing my grip! I'm so…" Angel shook herself and looked at me sadly.

"Bye Max," she said and flew away, back to where Iggy and the others floated. I spread my wings and flew up to meet them.

"Are you joining us?" Nudge asked excitedly. I gave her a look that suggested that I was furious with them.

"What is wrong with you?" I burst out angrily. "I'm trying to help save someone's life and you're determined to get home to your cushy lives at my mom's, is that right?" They all reluctantly nodded.

"But we don't like them," Gazzy mumbled.

"You're all being selfish. ALL of you. I'm very disappointed in you. Go. Go home. No, as a matter of fact, yes. Leave. Go to my mom's house. But when I'm returning, I expect NONE of you to be in my house. EVER again. I'm not disgracing myself with being with a bunch of selfish brats," I snarled. I turned to fly back down to the rest of them.  
>"Max!" Nudge cried. I stopped at her heartbroken voice. Had I been too harsh?<p>

"Despite what I just said, I still love you all. Do you remember when we were on the run from everyone? How we stuck together, no matter what? We vowed to do the right thing if we had the chance. To save someone's life so they don't have to go through what we're going through?" I asked. Everyone nodded.

"I'm staying with Max," Nudge said, choking up. She sailed towards me and I hugged her awkwardly, avoiding getting beaten up with Nudge's wings.

"Me too," Gazzy said, flying over to me. I smiled at Angel and Iggy, who was carrying the unconscious Lee. Angel flew over silently, holding my hand. We all looked to Iggy. He looked at us all.

"You'll regret this," he said, then dropped Lee to the solid snow a thousand feet below before flying away.

_Vanessa POV_

I had been tranquilized. Again. But this time, I was floating in bluish water in a wetsuit with an oxygen mask around my nose and mouth. Tubes were hooked up to my arms, chest and legs. I stared out of the tank, surprisingly being able to see clearly, and saw an Asian scientist working at the control panel. The boy, Zenith, stood next to her, watching me.

"Well, well," he smirked. I could also hear him perfectly fine in the water. "The princess is awake."

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"A day." I groaned and went to swim to the surface to get out, my brain not realizing _They probably don't want me to leave _and I received a hot current of water. I gasped and sunk down, my limbs weakening.

"Since you're arctic fox, warmth hurts you."

"How old are you?" I demanded.

"13 and counting."

"Really?" I said, unable to contain my surprise. He looked like he was really close to death with his grayed hair.

"Really. Working with Itex for one year."

"Tests are ready," the scientist said.

"This is Dr. Xui, one of the top scientists in the world," Zenith said probably.

"Why would you work with them? Join them to hurt people?"

"Mutants. Not people. I'm not a person, you're not a person."

"I am… wait, you're not a person?" In response to my question, he spread fifteen-foot gray wings. "You're working with the people who hurt people like you?"

"I help capture wild experiments. They protect me," he said. "I caught you."

"There were…" I started but silenced myself.

"Other experiments? Yeah, but you're the assassin that I'm looking for. Your friends will be caught eventually." I snorted.

"I'm not an assassin anymore."

"What if you're life depended on it?" he asked, pressing his nose against the glass, smiling evilly at me.

"What if my life depended on killing someone?" I confirmed. He nodded. "I wouldn't do it."

"Oh, 'cicle…" he chuckled. I froze at my nickname, Icicle, which I remembered was my real name for awhile. 'Cicle was for short. How did he know my nickname.

"Who are you?"

"Zenith, dear."

"I mean really." He smiled.

"You're smart, I'll give you credit for that, but I believe," he motioned to Dr. Xiu, "this conversation is over." One of the tubes in my left arm gave me a shot. "Good night, 'cicle'." And I drifted into unconsciousness of my dream.

_Six-year old Vanessa stared around the room with her icy blue eyes. A doctor entered the room and Vanessa let out a strangled yelp before huddling in the corner, anything to avoid another test. The doctor smiled, like he was friends with her. _

"_No more tests," he said. _

"_No more?" Vanessa asked, hoping that he would let her out of the cage._

"_No more," he agreed. Little Vanessa still believed there was a loophole in it, but she was more than willing to leave. "But, you only get to leave if you do something for us, icicle." She nodded. Anything to prevent going into the lab again. The doctor opened the cage and took her out. She walked with him, watching her surroundings with wide eyes. He lead her into a room with fuzzy bear things that she had seen before. They laughed/snarled at her and she hid behind the doctor._

"_Now icicle, if you don't want anymore tests, we need you to go out in the world, find this person and try to bring them back here. If they refuse, I want you to take your icicle and poke them really hard in the neck, then come back here, okay? If you do good, no more testing." Icicle was not stupid. Poking really hard in the neck would kill them. But the tests… they were awful and left her battered and wishing they would kill her. She pursed her small lips before speaking._

"_Okay."_

**I was going to post this really late last night, but it wasn't the best to my ability. I want you guys to view what I'm proud of! Okay guys! See you on time next Wednesday!**

**Read and Review?**


	8. 21 Guns

**Last chapter was for the much-needed flashback of Vanessa. You'll get random stuff like that again soon.**

**Disclaimer: Candice Knox belongs to WingedHero540!**

Chapter 8: 21 Guns

_Max POV_

I was cursing Iggy to the very depths of H-E-double-toothpicks when he dropped Lee, and Fang and I had to go save her. What was wrong with him? I sent Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel down to where the pack was gathering. I folded my wings against my back and fell freestyle to get the unconscious bird girl. I got close enough to grab her arm as the winds sliced into my face, burning. Fang got her arm next as the trees began to grow more in detail.

"Now!" I yelled. Thank goodness Fang knew what I meant. Our wings shot out and the wind caught onto our feathers, lifting us up and slowing us down. It was painful, but it only lasted a while. We managed a steady flight back to where our observers watched. Nudge looked like she had been crying, and I noticed that Landon stood closest to her, occasionally glancing at her as if to make sure she was okay.

"Anyone hurt?" I asked. Jake was up and adjusting his eyes to the light. Speaking of adjusting, Violet twisted her eye at me, not responding.

"No, I think we're all good," Jet said, but he said with emphasis on 'all', hinting that some of us weren't. I sighed.

"I really don't know what happened with him. He wanted to leave and I wouldn't let him. What matters is that nobody's hurt," I said as-a-matter-of-factly. We laid Lee down onto the snow and Violet handed me a mug of hot chocolate. I cooled it off by setting it on the snow for a minute before letting Lee drink it. As it touched her lips, she coughed and woke up.

"Wha…huh?" she asked. Violet chuckled.

"Iggy knocked you out," Jake provided.

"Where is he? I'll knock that sick…"

"He's gone," I said, interrupting her. She paused for a moment before sitting up.

"Gone?"

"He dropped you and left," Jake added.

"He _dropped _me?"

"Meaning he carried you into the sky and dropped you."

"That son of a…"

"Let's eat!" I shouted loudly. I didn't care if the kids had been exposed to terrible elements, there would be no vulgar language while I was alive. And I had a thing for keeping me and the flock alive. We crowded around the fire, desperate to get warm. Jet handed out food silently while we munched on turkey and cheese sandwiches. Lee stared at her sandwich for a while before giving it to Angel and running into the woods.

"Lee!" Jet called before chasing after her. Landon sighed and poked at the fire with a stick. Violet stared at the flames and occasionally wrinkled her nose up. I tapped Landon on the shoulder and walked off. He got the hint and followed.

"What's wrong?"

"We're breaking apart," he said numbly.

"Breaking apart?"

"Everyone's trying to get us. I'm well-balanced and I stumbled out there. I have a tail, and I _fell_. I don't fall. Ever."

"Maybe you were…"

"_Ever_," he interrupted, his blue eyes boring into me.

"So what? We all mess up. I can fly, but that doesn't mean I haven't had a time where I couldn't."

"You don't understand," he said bitterly. "I wasn't injured. I was perfectly capable of getting Iggy under control, but I fell and faceplanted in the snow."

"Lee's fine! We saved her!" I exclaimed.

"_You _saved her," Landon corrected. He sighed and looked down at the crystallized snow.

"I don't think that's the only thing that's bothering you," I said, feeling like a psychologist or something.

"It's when Vanessa was kidnapped. She was forced to go with him. It was something I never told you. The Eraser said, 'We need our assassin back' and 'wild experiments need to be killed' and stuff. She wasn't denying it, more like cringing at it." I thought about it for a moment.

"So she was an assassin?"

"Yeah," he said unsurely. Then he straightened up, "Yeah."

"For Itex? Is that why they want her back?"

"I don't know. I'd think so." Landon stared off into the trees. Jet burst through and paced up to us.

"I calmed Lee down. We don't know why Iggy would want her to be dropped, and she's afraid he'll come back and do it again," he explained.

"I think he dropped here because she's the only one who…" I started, but Jet's pupils dilated, turning his eyes an eerie black. Landon stopped too, imitating Jet.

"What are you doing?" I asked warily.

"Someone's here," Jet hissed, his furry ears twitching around. Landon was sniffing the air.

"Lion," he said.

"Human," Jet added.

"Mutant," I concluded.

_Vanessa POV_

After my second or third time being drugged, I woke up again in a cell. It was a medium-sized cell.

"Upgraded from dog cages," I grumbled. I went to move, but found my wrists chained against the wall. The cell bars gave me a perfect view of Zenith, creepy not-so-old avian.

"And we're up," he said, clapping slowly. He said 'and' like a game show host would, long and enthusiastic.

"What do you want?" I snarled.

"Dear," he said, acting hurt. "Is that anyway to talk to your replacement?"

"Replacement?"

"As an assassin, and as a leader, but I have no intentions of leaving. I replaced you after you ran away. I became the assassin around here," he said proudly.

"Good, I don't care," I shrugged as well as someone could who was chained to a wall.

"And as a leader. I'm going to find the pack, and whoever you're traveling with." I said nothing. I tried to scream a mental note to them about an avian that's evil. "I'm going to lead them here, and then we'll capture them and turn them into experiments!" he said cheerfully. "Isn't that lovely? I thought of it myself."

"Brilliant," I said sarcastically.

"I knew so. But it's time for your daily memory!" he clapped his hands and Captain came in.

"'Cicle…" he said, like he actually cared what happened for me. He stroked my chin and I bit his finger. He yelped and slapped me. I bit back my cry of pain and let my furious glare free instead. Zenith laughed from outside. Captain rubbed his furry finger and growled something about 'winged fish sticks'. He pressed his finger to my temple and before I could bite off his whole dang hand, I received my daily memory.

"_No…no!" the boy cried. Vanessa had aged a year, and in the secluded section of the woods, there was no way the boy could escape. His skin changed color, blending into the grass color. Vanessa raised her icicle dagger, ready to kill this ignorant experiment. _

"_Please! You're an experiment yourself! Why would you hurt us? We're your siblings! We can help you!" the boy tried. Vanessa considered what the boy said. Why would she hurt someone who was like her? Who said she didn't deserve to be hurt? She remembered the tests with electric shock, the heat, the hounds unleashed to kill her as a test if she would survive or not… she shuddered and responded to the boy._

"_I have to. It's my only option," she whispered._

"_There's never only one option," the boy said. The dagger came down and the boy's anguished scream rang through the forest, startling a flock of birds. The boy's limp body was collapsed on the grassy floor, and his skin was a sickly gray, the color of a deceased chameleon. Vanessa sheathed her ice dagger and went to head back to Itex. No matter what she did after that, the chameleon boy's words rang in her ears. "There's never only one option." _

I gasped as Captain pulled his finger away. I lurched forward as I tried to escape my restraints.

"Beautiful!" Zenith laughed as he clapped again, as if my pain was a show to watch.

"Sure," I retorted. "Put me on Broadway."

"She's got a fiery spirit! Gotta love that! Hey, and listen, Connor the Chameleon didn't deserve to live."

"Yes he did!"

"Then why'd you kill him?" he asked snidely. I gave him the bird. He laughed again, like he was planning what I would do next.

"Get Candice ready. We're going on a mission!" he called exiting my view. How I hated him. Captain lingered around for a while after Zenith left. When I thought he was gone, I let the pain of everything I had done free. First step, tears. I cried for, like, ten minutes. I doubt anyone human cried that long. And if anyone found out I was crying, I would have to punch them. Second step, rage. I wanted to break my arms, just so I could free myself of the chains. If I could do that, without breaking anything, I could get out of here. Third step, complete and utter silence. And that's what I heard for the rest of the day. Silence.

**I'm having hamburgers tonight for dinner! Yum! So I'm kind of rushing… anyway…. **

**Read and Review?**


	9. Don't Let Me Get Me

**It's Wednesday everyone! Hump Day! Week's almost over, let's pull through this together! I plan a special Panic Attack for Violet today…**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything you think I don't own. I do own Landon. By the way. And Taylor Morris is Dreams of the Darkness' character. And I also don't own 'Don't Let Me Get Me' by P!nk. I hate the exclamation mark.**

Chapter 9: Don't Let Me Get Me

_Max POV_

I stared at Jet for a moment before running back to camp. The kids were circled around the fire while Lee told them stories of her past. It seemed like they were having a good time, but this was important.

"Incoming," I told them. Story time was over and everyone jumped to their feet in battle positions. Lee slowly got to her feet, as she was still recovering. Landon and Jet appeared and began circling the area, seeing if they could get to the mutant first. Violet joined them and sniffed out a fresh scent by one of the pine trees. As they approached, the figure jumped out. Violet snarled viciously, Jet roared, and Landon hissed as they assessed the enemy. He was tall, with black hair and dark blue streaks and green eyes that reminded me of snake eyes. He hissed and I swear I saw a forked tongue dart out of his mouth and back in.

"Maximum Ride," he said, like he had met me before. His eye twitched before lunging at the closest, weakest victim: Lee. Lee struggled, but was no match for him. I stepped forward with Jet, Landon, and Violet. Lee nodded at us before unfurling her wings, which were strong enough to break his grasp and take flight. He growled furiously. He then made the mistake of trying to catch me. My combat boot met his stomach and he tumbled backwards, landing neatly on his feet. Violet stared at him.

"You… I know you…" she muttered.

"Snap out of it!" Jet exclaimed, smacking her on the arm. He lunged again, this time twisting in midair, landing behind me and pinning me to the snow.

"The girl who should not have lived. You were next on the hit list. They wanted you dead," he whispered. I rolled over and slugged him in the head. He fell over and I shot up, kicking him swiftly in the side. He dodged and Violet turned into the mutant and hissed at him. He looked surprised.

"Hello, Taylor. Nice to see you," he said sarcastically.

"You should've died long ago," Violet hissed in the mutant Taylor's voice.

"So should you. Vanessa said that she would personally go after you. Number… seventy-eight, I think." Jet attacked from behind and pulled him down. Before anyone could get their punches in, Landon's ear twitched.

"GET DOWN!" he yelled, tackling Violet. We all fell to the ground as a chopper soared overhead.

"I'm always followed. This is no solo mission," Taylor said calmly, getting up and brushing the snow off of his jacket. Zenith will be pleased.

The chopper shot down at us and Nudge shrieked a bit. Instead of bullets, however, the 'bullets' exploded into nets that pinned us.

"Max!" Gazzy yelled as the first one hit him. One by one, nets covered us all. Jet shredded through his and looked at us desperately.

"RUN!" I commanded. He ran off, glancing over his shoulder. He skillfully scaled the nearest tree. Landon tore at it, trying to rip through it. Taylor had been grinning off into space of his victory over us and didn't notice Jet escaping. Landon ripped free, and went to help us.

"Run!" I hissed. He looked at me sadly and continued to help.

"You're going to get captured again!" I said. As I said those words, Taylor turned around and shot Landon. Angel and Nudge screamed. I stared at his unmoving body in shock.

"Calm down, it was just a tranquilizer," he said, like everything was fine. One chopper landed as others swarmed ahead. He picked up the net carrying Angel and set it inside. A few Erasers helped carry Landon in. Soon enough, I was the last one out in the snow. I kicked at my restraints furiously, hoping that I would break loose. A figure loomed over me, and I glared up at him. He looked really young, but old at the same time. He had silver hair and gray eyes, but he looked like he was thirteen.

"I wouldn't do that," he said. "State-of-the-art netting." He kneeled down to my net and looked me in the eye.

"What do you want with us?"

"Experiments. On the streets, they're dangerous beings. But when we can watch them, that's when the REAL fun begins. Testing and testing galore!"

"It's entertaining to watch them scream," Taylor pitched in.

"Oh yes! With potato chips of course. Popcorn if we're lucky. Come along, Maximum." He flicked his wrist and Erasers came to his beck and call. They picked up my net and rolled me in. The door sealed shut and I heard the spin of the propeller.

"Great," Fang muttered.

"What do we do?" Nudge cried.

"Where are they taking us?" Gazzy asked.

"Is Landon okay?" Violet asked, sounding worried for the first time. I looked around.

"I don't see him." That's when the strangest thing happened. Violet had a panic attack.

"Where… where is he? I need him! He knows where she is! We have to… we have to… we have to…" and started hyperventilating. Then broke down crying.  
>"WHAT IF HE'S DEAD?"<p>

"He's not dead," Lee reassured. I guess they must have captured her from the sky.

"HE'S DEAD! I CAN FEEL IT! I CAN…" then she turned into a raging Violet.

"Stupid Taylor! He should've died years ago! I tried to kill him but he kept… ARGH… BREAK LOOSE!" she yelled, shapeshifting into different forms trying to break through the netting. She then started crying again.

"We're going to die!" she cried. Then fell asleep. It was silent for a long time until Angel spoke timidly.

"Does that always happen?"

"Yeah. The Violet Attack. Best not to mention it when she wakes up," Lee said. Angel nodded and I realized something.

"Wait a minute…" I said. "Where's Jake?"

_Vanessa POV_

The day had passed and the door opened. I looked up dejectedly. A creepy-looking girl with short black hair let me out.

"Who are you?"

"Candice."

"Are you a mutant too?" I asked. She nodded.

"You're that girl from the mall!" I realized. She smirked.

"The battle isn't over, 'Cicle."

"Don't call me that."

"It's your name."

"It's my nickname. My name is Vanessa," I snapped.

"Cool your jets, Frosty the Snowman. It's testing time." She prodded me into a large room where a huge mirror rested on one wall. The rest of the room was pure white. Testing. The word sent shivers down my spine. A deep voice spoke out loud.

"Are you ready for the first test?" it asked. Before I could respond, it interrupted.

"It begins now." I froze in postion, waiting for things to happen: lasers shoot out of the walls, fire-breathing sheep… (Don't laugh, you've never met one). All that came out was a boy. A boy I recognized.

"Let's make this quick so I can go on the mission," he said loudly, not even looking at me. He looked up and I saw the surprise on his face. He knows me.

"Uh… I… Icicle?"

"That's not my name," I growled.

"Icicle!"

"Not my name," I muttered.

"Haven't seen you since… forever!"

"That's cool. Mind telling me who you are?"

"You don't remember me? I'm Serpent, your partner-in-crime until you left."

"Until I got a head. Grow some and get lost," I snarled.

"Feisty. Yep, you're Icicle alright! Say, how's the scar? I left it last time we fought…"

"Enough with the chit-chat," the voice boomed. "Fight."

"Oh this should be fun. Since you haven't fought anyone in forever, you're probably out of…" I socked him in the gut. His breath left his lungs in a _whoosh_.

"Just kidding?" he said weakly. I swung a roundhouse kicked that he ducked and grabbed my leg. I brought my remaining leg up and hit him in the side of the face. I spun in the air and landed perfectly as he stumbled into the wall, a trick Jet had taught me.

"Gotten better?" he wheezed.

"A bit," I said sarcastically.

"Me too." He jumped up and aimed for my face. I ducked and swiped my leg underneath him. He jumped up, and landed on my ankle, pinning me down with his weight.

"Gotcha," he chuckled.

"I believe my other leg works fine." I brought my left leg up and hit him in the gut. He stumbled off and I jumped up, not have taken a brutal hit yet. I had him.

"Stop," the voice commanded. I stopped reluctantly and he grinned. Ninja star-like things were hurled at the wall at my height, almost taking off my head. Taylor advanced, simply dodging the stars. I had to fight him and avoid getting my head chopped off? I'd have to fight on the ground. I laid down on the ground and rolled out of the way whenever he charged in my direction. He laughed and clapped enthusiastically. He dove at me, agreeing to fight on the ground. He pinned me down and a star almost took off his head. He ducked and his moment of distraction was all I needed to pin him against the wall, surrounded my ninja stars.

"Stop," the voice repeated.

"I have to go," Taylor said apologetically.

"You're not leaving until there's a winner. And I believe it would be me."

He signaled to the mirror and looked at me sadly.

"Sorry, 'Cicle. Got to go kidnap someone. Maximum Ride?" he said. I lunged at him, but a blast of hot air weakened my legs. I collapsed onto the floor. He leaned over.

"Next time, 'Cicle." And walked out. I remember him now. I got up weakly and as I was lead back to my cell, I was furious at myself for letting him out of the fight. I was furious at myself for even being here.

**Read and Review? Do you guys have any news of the Maximum Ride movie? The cast? Who's directing it? I know it's happening and the question is when. I'M DYING TO KNOW. Thank you. Have an awesome week! Next Wednesday is a day off for my school so Chapter 10 should be up early. I hope. No promises. Again, have an awesome week!**


	10. Pumped Up Kicks

**Yes there will be a Maximum Ride movie, directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Sound familiar? I think so. Director of 'Twilight'. Earlier on, it was rumored that she wanted Robert Pattinson as Fang and Kristen Stewart as Max. If you are a die-hard MR fan, DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN. I don't know if it's still a rumor, it actually wasn't true at all, but in any case, there is a petition to say 'no way' to Hardwicke's decision. I can't put the link here, but it will be on my profile soon if it hasn't already been finished! Anyway, on with the chapter!**

Chapter 10

_Jake POV (Wait, what?)_

Leave it to me to go get some firewood, come back, and find everyone gone. The fire was burnt out, so the pounds of wood I just collected was a waste, the sleeping bags were gone, and it appeared the food was gone as well.

"Thanks for nothing," I grumbled. I heard a loud noise to my right and quickly looked. I picked up the largest piece of wood in my pile and approached the area of the noise.

"Who's there?" I said threateningly. I felt my instinctive snake-mode turn on, and I was taking steady steps as I prepared to beat the thing up.

"Jake!" he exclaimed. I sighed and felt my paranoia die down.

"Why are you creeping around like that? Are you _trying _to give me a heart attack?"

"No! I'm hiding! I'm afraid they'll come back!"

"Who's coming back? Who's they?"

"The Erasers! They took everyone else in their choppers and flew off!" Jet said wildly.

"Where are they going?" I asked.

"Probably Itex! We have to… Jake, where are we going? Jake? Jake!" Jet ran after me as I picked up another piece of wood. I hefted it before throwing it to him. He staggered when he caught it but glanced it over before speaking.

"What are you doing?"

"We're going to go get them," I replied.

"Well, that I know, but how?"

"Which way to the helicopters go?"

"That way," Jet said, pointing off where he had been before scaring me to death. I picked up my stick and headed off.

"Can you hear them? The helicopters?" I asked him once the camp was out of sight. His ear twitched nervously as he leaped over a snow-covered boulder before scaling a pine tree like a squirrel.

"Show-off," I muttered.

"Yeah! I hear them! This way!" he exclaimed, leaping to the snow and running through the woods. I followed him. We went for an hour before I suggested we stop.

"We can't stop!" Jet exclaimed, pacing around in a circle.

"Obviously, you're not doing too well," I stated, gesturing to the rundown, small path he had created for himself just by walking back and forth continuously.

"We have to save Vanessa!"

"What has gotten into you? The others need help as well! Is there something you're not telling me?" I demanded. Jet sighed, and actually looked relatively calm for the first time since Vanessa got taken.

"I was lonely. I was cold. I tried to stay with some homeless people but they chased me away. I had just left Itex and was trying to get as far away as I could. There was a fire going in the far distance, and a couple of wolves had attacked me far back, so I limped to the light. When I got there, there was a girl there, sitting as far away from the fire as she could, holding out a thin stick with meat on the end. She saw me, gave me a wary look, then offered her cooked meat to me. I sat close to the fire and ate to my heart's content. I felt bad because I didn't say anything, but I was hungry. The girl asked me, 'Hungry?' and I replied, 'A bit', and she chuckled before cooking some more meat for herself. 'Where did you come from?' she asked. 'A terrible place', was all I said. 'Me too,' she grumbled. 'It was a place called Itex'. I looked at her, thinking, 'I had gone there too!' and I told her so. She nodded. 'Terrible place. What'd they do to your leg?' she asked. 'Wolves back there', I said. She took off her jacket and wrapped it around my leg wound. 'Won't you freeze?' I asked. She shook her head. 'Genetically impossible', she said. She sat down in her spot. 'What's your name?' she asked. I said my name, Jet, and she said, 'I'm Vanessa.'" I looked at Jet for a while as he sat down hard on a log nearby.

"That's how you met Vanessa?" I asked. He nodded.

"That jacket that she gave me to help heal me… is what I'm wearing now," he said. I looked at his grey hoodie. I tried to imagine it as it was several years ago, sitting by a lonely fire with Vanessa.

"Not to be rude or anything, but exactly why would you tell me such a random story?" I asked.

"She took me in! She practically saved my life, and I have a right to save her in return."

"Jet…"

"I won't rest until we get to Itex. Besides, I might not be able to hear the helicopter if we rest." I sighed and followed him as he ran back into the darkness of the woods.

"That's Itex?" I asked, peering over our boulder.

"I can smell experimentation from here," he snarled. After what felt like hours of traveling, we finally showed up to this huge metal building, security guards, golf carts, and the smell of sickness, disease, and I heard faint screams echoing from the inside.

"How are we going to get in?" I asked. Jet smiled. He had a plan.

_Vanessa POV_

"Hold her still while we inject her," one doctor said to another. I sat up as a man pinned down my arms.

"You'll be fine," he reassured me, but I doubted him. I saw huge needle on a mechanical arm slowly moving towards me. I couldn't help it, I panicked. I slammed my head into the guy pinning me down. He fell over and I ripped free of my bonds. I pushed out the door before anyone could react. I looked for a window, a door, anything that could be used as escape or a place to hide would be useful. An alarm blared, letting my escape be known. Lovely. I ran into the closest door as a troop of Erasers barged through. The room had a small window and I peeked through it, watching as everyone scrambled to find me. I saw three helicopters slowly landing outside and Erasers and my long-hated enemies came out. Zenith was yelling at an Eraser carrying a bag with lots of weight. Now that I looked, every creature in sight was carrying a bag with weight in it. A person, I realized. They were carrying people in bags. It wasn't like Itex would offer their victims limos to their lovely facility here, but I still wasn't expecting that. Taylor hopped out, grinning wildly. I saw his grin fade when a doctor shared something with him. He roared loudly and slammed his fist into a nearby table.

"How COULD YOU LET HER ESCAPE?" he was screaming. 'Her' being me.

"She'll figure out eventually that we have-" the doctor was saying before cut off by a wild scream. One of the people inside the bag was crying hysterically one moment, laughing the next, and screaming furiously before repeating.

"Shut up!" Taylor yelled, kicking the person in the bag. The bag was torn open and a roaring tiger leaped out. I was confused momentarily before the tiger changed into a bald eagle and soared above their heads. _Violet! _I thought. They had Max, her friends and my pack. Angered by this, I stood up, pushed the door open and grew the icicle dagger from my palm. It grew out to it's full extent, and I began slashing the closest bag open. Everyone was trying to catch Violet, the albatross now, and only Taylor noticed as I managed to get a decent sized hole in it. He tackled me, which was a mistake, considering I already beat him once, and now I had a sharp weapon. I kicked him off of me, and slashed out with it. He ducked and grabbed my arm, twisting it around. I bit back a cry of pain before flipping over and planting my boot in his jaw. He staggered back and I cut his arm.

"Y… you... stabbed me, Vanessa," he said stunned. He actually sounded like he didn't expect it. "You stabbed me!"

"Uh?" I said.

"Vanessa," he whispered before crumpling to the floor. Was he actually dead? I didn't cut him that deep, did I? I leaned over him.

"I knew you had it in you to kill someone else," he moaned before not moving again.

"Get up, I know you're not dead," I sighed. He didn't move.

"Fine. I'll just free my friends," I said. I turned around and ran straight into Captain.

"Hello Vanessa," he sneered before knocking me across the room. I hit the wall and struggled to my feet, dazed.

"I'm an Eraser, and what are you? A fox? How do you plan to beat me?" he laughed, advancing towards me quickly. As he got close enough, I slid across the floor, through his furry legs, jumped up behind him, and decided he would give me a piggy-back ride. He roared as he reached back to pull me where he could see me.

"No," I said dismissively, using my dagger to swipe at his hands that would dare come near me. He spun me around in a circle and I held on for dear life. Violet had changed into a griffin in order to maintain everyone's attention so I only had to do one-on-one's, instead of three-hundred-on-one. Captain stepped forward, and then ran backwards. I climbed on top of his shoulders, jumped to dangling chain as he slammed into the wall, back-first. I hung on for a moment too long. Captain got his bearings and leaped up to catch me. His paws almost got too close to my boot for comfort, so I scaled up the chain more. _Creeakk_. I looked up slowly and froze when I saw the chain was barely holding into the metal roofing. I got an idea.

"Come get me, hairball!" I yelled to Captain, making a gagging noise for effect. He jumped up efficiently, grabbing onto the chain and dangling there. Fortunately, he had been eating too many chocolate bars and the roof caved into his weight. I leaped off and managed to land safely as he disappeared underneath a mass of stone, dust, and roofing. I smiled to myself as I had most likely killed him, before turning. Strong arms held me in a headlock suddenly, and I struggled around furiously until a sharp pain in my neck made the images my eyes were seeing fade away.

**Vanessa is a stealth ninja, and I felt Jake and Jet needed a POV to see what happened with them. A little bit of Jet history in there too. And I found out that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart WILL MOST POSITIVELY NOT play Fang and Max. Good chapter? I think so. **

**Read and Review? Have a Happy Turkey Day tomorrow, wherever you are! Can't wait to stuff your face either? **


	11. Misery

**Wednesday? But that means… YAY! Snowfall! Snowfall is approximately… 500 views from 1000! You guys are the best! Well… yeah, you guys are awesome. Oh, and if you're a Percy Jackson fan, check out the recent chapter of 'Create an OC'… more submissions needed. I need 1 more Greek, 2 more Romans, and more rogues! Anyway…**

**This is Snowfall! Not Sparta: I do not own… Vanessa Winters (AquamarineMermaid427 does), I do not own Violet, Dreams of the Darkness does, I do not own Lee, CheersToTheFreakinWeekend does, I do not own Zenith, RedWolf11 does, and I do not own Taylor, Dreams of the Darkness does. All Maximum Ride characters belong to James Patterson, and I do not own Misery, by Maroon5, Maroon 5 does. That was a lot. Onward…**

Chapter 11: Misery

_Max POV_

Violet was spewing flames everywhere, the boy Taylor was unconscious or dead, gray-haired guy knocked Vanessa out, and an Eraser was trapped underneath a mountain of concrete.

"Battle up!" I yelled over the chaos. Landon knocked out two scientists in a few seconds, Fang was pummeling an Eraser and I decided I would find where they were going to take Vanessa. I followed the gray-haired guy as he personally dragged Vanessa's unconscious body along the hallway. When he saw me coming after him, he smiled.

"Maximum…"

"Give me my friend back," I snarled. He laughed, like my determination amused him.

"Your 'friend' here isn't as honest as you think. Her name is Icicle. It's what she used to kill thirty escaped mutants."

"Cool story, can't wait to hear the ending. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have places to be, so if you don't mind…" I jumped into the air, spread my wings and tackled him at top speed.

"CAW!" he screeched. He actually sounded like a bird, which confused me. Instead of slamming into the flooring, he spread his wings, which were gray and white and flew up, carrying Vanessa with him. He cawed loudly, and shattered the ceiling. My ears rang as I held my head in pain.

_You can do this, Maximum. Concentrate. He doesn't have power left to 'caw' again_, the Voice said, somewhat helpful this time. I took to the sky, shooting after him. He had gone reasonably high into the air, almost shielded by the clouds, but I found him quickly.

"Hello again," he said cheerfully, but his eyes suggested he was disappointed by me not being dead yet.

"Give. Me. My. Friend."

"Do you want me to let her go?"

"Yes!"

"Okay!" he said enthusiastically. I was confused for three seconds before he released her, letting her fall over 100 feet through the ice cold air. I mentally facepalmed, I should've seen that coming from a mile away. I flew after her, but an evil bird-boy blocked me. He slammed into my side, and I rolled away. I had to get to her before she fell to her death. I turned just in time to avoid a roundhouse kick from him.

"Zenith always wins!" he said cheerfully in third person POV. I realized that he wasn't happy about everything, he was just psychotic, the one who laughs when someone dies a painful death. I'm fighting a winged serial killer, that's a first. He went to punch me, but I caught his fist, twisting it around. He immediately twisted with his arm, and almost caught me off guard. I had seen this trick before. Lee was practicing it with Iggy before he went insane and tried to kill her. Before his Converse punctured into my gut, I shifted position. When he missed his 'kill-shot' thing, he actually looked nervous for a second. His nervousness quickly changed into confidence.

"You think you're so clever," he said.

"Nah, you just overthink it," I said. I was in his face within a second, and I gave him what was known as a 'knuckle sandwich'. He recoiled and I shot downwards, knowing that Vanessa would've hit the ground by now. I could feel him soaring behind me. As we raced, him to catch me, me to get Vanessa, the ground became visible. Pine trees were scattered underneath, creating green splotches among the pure white snow. I managed to form a quick plan to get rid of Zenith once and for all. I put on my super speed ability and was almost to the trees before I looked behind me. Zenith was close, but not as close as he was before. I dove into the forest, changed direction, and flew right. I swerved over, under, sideways, diagonal, even upside down to avoid the clingy branches protruding from the tree trunks. Zenith crashed in clumsily where as I was nimble as a deer. He crashed in, almost in front of me, but I zoomed past. He was now right behind me, and I didn't have enough energy to boost ahead. New plan. I looked at the ground, ten feet below and folded my wings. I freefell for a minute before using my wings again to parachute my fall. I tumbled safely to the snow. He dove down to attack me.

"Just gave up, huh?" he said, folding his wings and striding towards me. I was scaling the nearest pine tree and kicking violently at every branch I passed.

"I'm not as fast as you," I said. Lies.

"Of course not," he sneered, not catching onto the sarcasm dripping from my voice. He stood directly beneath the tree, gazing up at me.

"I'll be down in a second," I said. I reached the very top. I spread my wings and grabbed the heavy rock that I had held onto the whole dang climb, and dropped it. It hit one branch, causing the snow to fall from it to land on the branch below it. Snow fell, landed, fell, landed, it went on for five drops, and I managed to distract Zenith until it landed. It must've been twenty pounds worth of snow that landed on top of him. I landed next to the pile and I could hear him trying to escape. That should be enough time for me to get a weapon. I flew up and managed to break off a decent-sized branch. Branches came in handy, believe it or not. Zenith broke free, roaring in anger. He saw me immediately, hiding my weapon, floating above the tree. He spread his wings and took off towards me. I whipped out my branch and it stabbed into him. He froze and stared at me for a second.

"Max…" he whispered. He looked at the branch now protruding from his stomach. Blood poured from the wound. His wings, not being able to flap, stopped. He plummeted to the snow and lay there as the snow around him became coated with his blood.

_Vanessa POV_

It isn't too pleasant to wake up from being an awesome ninja, then wake up falling really fast. I shrieked and looked immediately for a place to land. The snow was approaching slowly and the trees were too far away. Maybe I could land on my feet. I knew it was doubtful, but I could try. Suddenly, a form grabbed my shoulders and took me away from the ground.

"AH!" I shrieked. I looked up and saw a blonde, winged boy holding me.

"I saved you, at least I could get a thank you," Iggy mumbled.

"Let go of me!" I yelled, knowing what he tried to do with Lee.

"No! Let me explain!" he snapped. He slowly put me down and landed next to me. "They had a tracker on me! If I didn't get away, they would've shown up right away! I knew you would catch Lee, and it was the only way you wouldn't follow me!" I stared at him. It seemed outrageous, the excuse he was giving, but I was an expert at lying. He was telling the truth. I tugged my filthy beanie over my head protectively.

"I'll let it go… for now," I said sternly. "When this is over with, you and me are going to have a chat. But now, we have to go help-"

"Vanessa!" Max yelled. I looked up and she was carrying a bloody branch.

"Max! Iggy-"

"Get away from him, I'll take care of-"

"No! He's fine! He did it for us! Let him exPLAIN!" I screamed the last part as Max charged. She stopped, glared at Iggy, looked at me, then back at Iggy.

"You've got one minute. Explain." Iggy told her the whole story, start to finish while I wondered whose blood was on the branch.

"And you believe him?" Max asked me.

"Yes," I said confidently.

"In that case… this isn't over. You're not officially back in the Flock yet. You have to earn it."

"What's with the branch?" I interrupted.

"New weapon. Works like a charm."

"Do I dare ask whose blood it is?"

"No. Now we have to go help everyone. They're warding off a bunch whitecoats and Erasers."

"They might all be captured," I said, worried. I ran off towards the shadowed building. As I entered, I heard a thwacking sound bouncing off the walls.

"Stay!" a harsh voice said. A small whimpering noise echoed. My throat tightened as I feared who it was. I stepped closer to a corner where the noise was echoing from. I peered around it and saw ten Erasers holding my friends and the Flock hostage. A few whitecoats milled around, and I noticed Violet was the only one not in the line-up of mutants. Before I could react, someone's arms closed around me, making me paralyzed.

"Sorry 'cicle," Taylor whispered. I gritted my teeth as he dragged me out into the sight of the others.

"Any sign of Zenith?" the lion girl we fought in the mall those months ago asked. A few Erasers I hadn't seen before and were covered in snow shook their heads.

"Keep looking," she growled. She turned to Taylor.

"Is that our fugitive?" she purred.

Taylor replied, "Found her eavesdropping around the corner."

"Put her with the others," she said.

"Yeah, Candice." Taylor took me and shoved me next to Landon and Nudge. Nudge looked terrified and Angel looked like she was about to cry.

"Where's Violet?" I whispered to Landon. He didn't respond, it was like he couldn't hear me.

"Landon?" I asked again, still whispering. He turned to Lee and said something. Lee paled but nodded.

"What's wrong with him?" I whispered to Nudge. She said nothing either, but that was because Taylor yelled loudly.

"SILENCE! Put them all in the tanks, Rest of the Erasers, you come with me. We'll find Zenith. But… I want Vanessa to come with me," he looked at me, mischievously. I looked reluctantly as everyone was dragged away, to the dreadful tanks with the electrical shocks. I wanted nothing more than to kill every one of those whitecoats, and Taylor. Especially Taylor. As I was prodded out into the snow, I thought of bloody, violent deaths that Taylor would experience.

_Oh no. My time here has turned me into the serial killer that I was. That I am._

**Sorry it's a tad late, I had a major writer's block, and had a mental breakdown of some sort. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm not diseased. I hope. –cough- What was I saying? Oh yes,**

**Read and Review?**


	12. Paradise

**Hello again! Hope you had a Happy Holiday! Sorry for the absence, so here we go! Another chapter of Snowfall!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vanessa Winters (AquamarineMermaid427), Violet Snow (Dreams of the Darkness), Landon Reese (KatofFlorida), Jet Williams (WingedHero540), Jake Merciful (Dreams of the Darkness), Lee Shannon (CheerstotheFreakinWeekend), Candice Knox (WingedHero540), Zenith (RedWolf), Dr. Xiu (RedWolf), OR Taylor Morris (Dreams of the Darkness). Or Max, Iggy, Fang, Gazzy, Angel OR Nudge. Wow that's a lot. PLUS, the song 'Paradise', by Coldplay.**

Chapter 12: Paradise

_Fang POV (Yay for uniqueness)_

I opened my eyes after having them shut for a very long time and found myself and the others in tanks filled with blue water. No one else was up, which concerned me, until the kid Landon woke up next to me. He started saying something, but all that came out was _blub blub blub_. I shook my head and he looked tired. Like he had been through a lot. Which he had, we all had. Since I couldn't talk or devise a way out and no one seemed to be around watching us, I took it as time to think. We went to go meet these people, fought with them, decided we liked them, then Vanessa was captured. They wanted to go, and Max wanted to help. Then we were all captured, then Iggy went insane a while back, then Max disappears while we're fighting. Vanessa shows up again and Landon won't talk to her. I'm not a freaking genius, but I realize that Landon's a bit upset with her. He had mentioned something about serial killers, and my bird hearing picked up that Tyler kid saying "sorry 'cicle", which according to Angel, was her serial killer name. Oh, his name was Taylor.

_Fang? Are you up?_ Angel's voice in my head asked.

_Yeah, bored to death, but here._

_Where's Max?_

_I don't know. Somewhere. She'll be back though. She won't leave us, _I reassured.

_I can't find her mind, Fang. It's like she's dead. Is Max dead? _Angel sounded on the verge of tears.

_I would feel if she was dead. She's Maximum Ride, she's survived everything, She's fine. She's… probably just out of your reach._ Angel didn't say anything else, and I didn't want her to either. I couldn't keep telling her that Max was okay, or that she was coming back, because honestly, I don't know. If this happened last year, Max would be by our sides, fighting until the bitter end. But recently she started acting frail and brittle, like if you hurt her too bad, she'd crack into pieces. I shook my head and forced myself to believe that Max would come back for us. She wouldn't leave us. I hope. I didn't want to think about that, so I closed my eyes, and hoped a happy thought or two would save me from this nightmare. In my dream, I was flying into the sky. I was doing all these air tricks and the kids were far away on a boat. Max was next to me, her blonde hair whipping in the wind. I blinked and suddenly she was brunette. I blinked again and she was blonde. It was Max, but her hair color kept changing. She was flying beside me and holding my hand as we flew over the ocean. A whale burst out of the water and we gracefully sailed over it. Such was paradise.

_Vanessa POV_

Lion girl was gripping my arms behind me, her claws digging into me.

"What's your name?" I asked, through gritted teeth.

"Candice Knox. Now shut up," she growled. She shoved me forward as Taylor's minions continuously shouted out, "Zenith!" hoping to find the strange bird boy. I had seen him fighting Max as they burst out of the warehouse. Max had a bloody branch.., Did Max kill Zenith?

"Zenith!" Taylor called out, frustrated.

"Maybe we need that shapeshifting friend of hers," Candice suggested. Violet!

"She's uncontrollable. No way."

"Cat friend?"

"She has two, Jet and Landon," Taylor sighed.

"Either?" Candice asked hopefully.

"Equally uncontrollable. Except…"

"Except what?" Captain growled, snow covering his fur. "Why is it so cold out here?"

"We _are_ on a mountain," I volunteered.

"Except for what?" Candice said impatiently.

"Vanessa will go find him," Taylor said.

"What?" Captain and Candice chorused at the same time I said, "I am?"

"Yes, she can survive out here, and has brilliant tracking skills."

"How do we know she'll come back?" Captain asked. Candice nodded in agreement.

"We have her friends. We can torture them all we want," Taylor explained cheerfully. "Now who wants some hot chocolate?" They all raised their hands and went back towards the warehouse, leaving me alone in the snow. Not that I minded. I had other things to worry about as well. Landon. He gave me the cold shoulder when I tried to talk to him. It was because of my past, I could feel it. He found out about my other life, and he was mad. How would the rest of the pack take it? Jet would be angry, Violet would have a more reason to hate me, Jake wouldn't care, as long as I looked good, Lee would be sad, but would still want me back. I scaled up a pine tree and peered out over the snow. It wasn't hard to find a clue, just seeing the huge, deep red snow a few hundred feet out was enough to answer my question. Max had killed Zenith. I jumped down and ran as fast as I could towards the huge red blotch in the white snow. I approached it in less than ten minutes. He was underneath a tree, bent at an awkward angle. Dried blood was spread around him, his body slowly freezing. I stood there, staring at the bird kid who bullied me for the days I was captured alone, probably forced into this life, and believed he would like what he ended up doing. Now he was dead. I left his body and whipped out my icicle dagger. I scraped up a wide pit with it over the course of an hour. I went back to Zenith and dragged him by his arms to the grave. I was trying to figure out a way to push him in when he suddenly gasped. I stared at him, heart pounding wildly as I tried to plot my escape. Then his head dropped back and he didn't move. I stood there for twenty minutes, wind howling, snow whirling, staring and waiting for him to wake up, but he didn't. I felt his pulse and couldn't feel anything. I pushed him in the grave and heaved the snow on top of him, filling in the pit for another hour. I then ripped off a piece of bark, and wrote with my icicle dagger,

Here lies Zenith, the experiment. Rest In Peace.

I placed it in front of the lump of snow covering his body and lied next to it. I didn't want to go back, and being alone with the snow and only my thoughts to talk to, I was in paradise.

**Being that 'Paradise' is the song chapter, I incorporated it in. Yes, Zenith is dead, sorry Zenith fans. See you next Wednesday! **

**Read and Review?**


	13. Bad Romance

**WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY! For those of you who just started, go back to Chapter 1. Save yourself the confusion. This chapter involves a certain pairing, JakeXViolet. Oh so awesome. But it's at the last POV of the chapter, so wait in anticipation!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vanessa Winters (AquamarineMermaid427), Violet Snow (Dreams of the Darkness), Landon Reese (KatofFlorida), Jet Williams (WingedHero540), Jake Merciful (Dreams of the Darkness), Lee Shannon (CheerstotheFreakinWeekend). I do own William the guard. And James the birthday boy. Or Max, Iggy, Fang, Gazzy, Angel OR Nudge. I also do not own the song 'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga. Unless I'm Lady Gaga. Which I honestly doubt.**

_Violet POV_

I bit the scientist's fingers, enraged.

"OW!" he yelled, yanking his hand away from me. I growled and turned into a large dog. I began barking rapidly.

"Oh shut it," a voice said.

"Too bad she's too fat to turn into anything," laughed the scientist I bit. I scowled in my dog cage, hissing at anyone who walked by. I hated everyone. Stupid place. Stupid people. Then the two scientists in the sterile lab with me said something about "James' birthday' or something. Why celebrate birth? Well, they don't have to be kidnapped by mad scientists and be 'too fat' to get out. I suddenly had an idea. Stupid Violet, why didn't you think of this before? I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I was a butterfly. Ugh, how girly, but a butterfly that flew through the bars nimbly. I turned into myself outside of the cage. They had taken my blood an hour ago and were testing it, and trying to replicate my DNA. Oh please. I grabbed a wrench from a worktable and went to work, smashing and breaking everything in sight, including the lights. I stood on a chair and took out the lights, one by one. I finished and threw the wrench on the floor with a clatter. I turned into a fly and zipped out of the room. Oh, being awesome has its perks. After what felt like hours of flying around, I found Jet scraping his claws against the wall, and Landon's ears were twitching and his face was of pure annoyance and pain. I turned into myself inside of their cell.

"Please stop doing that, nimrod," I said to Jet, whacking him upside the head.

"Violet!" Landon exclaimed, clearly happy to see me.

"They wanted to test my DNA and made the mistake of putting me in a cage. Butterflies. Don't ask." I held up my hand at Jet's open mouth, about to ask a question. I turned into a fly and went back out. I picked the lock with ease and flipped my white blonde, black, and purple hair over my shoulder.

"Where's Lee and them?" Jet asked, rubbing the back of his head where I hit him.

"Down the hall," Landon said. "I saw them." We walked over and saw Nudge throwing a rock at the wall.

"I want it to come back to me, bounce off the wall like in Mission Impossible Four!" she complained.

"Or you could escape," I suggested sarcastically. Fang, Nudge, Angel and Gazzy turned towards me.

"Violet! Landon! Jet!" Angel exclaimed.

"Shh… there might be guards," Jet said, smiling at the kid's enthusiasm. I just grumbled and picked the lock.

"Wait. Where's Jake?" I asked. "And Lee? They're not in here, unless they turn invisible."

"I haven't seen Jake since we got hauled here," Landon admitted.

"They took Lee about ten minutes ago," Fang said quietly.

"Great," I said sarcastically.

"Well let's get her," Jet said, cracking his knuckles and wiggling his fingers, making his claws jump up and down.

"What about Vanessa and Max? We still don't know where Jake is," Landon pointed out.

"Um…" Nudge said and touched the floor. She stood there for a while and we stared at her.

"What are you doing?" I snorted.

"Shh!" I glared at Jet before turning back to Nudge. She stood up.

"They went that way," she announced, pointing to our left.

"I don't think we can afford to split up," Fang said.

"We go together then," Landon confirmed. I groaned inwardly. More people to deal with. We went down the hall and met our first guard.

"You!" he yelled and charged us. I clotheslined him and kicked him down. Then his walkie-talkie rang in.

"Will? Are you there?" it crackled. Gazzy picked it up and pressed the button. I was about to smack him for ruining us, but then he spoke. In the guard's voice.

"I'm here."

"You got an eye on those prisoners?" it asked.

"Yeah. One got a bit riled up, and I had to beat him down."

"Good, good. Maybe if you continue with your work, you'll get a promotion." Gazzy sounded excited.

"Th-thank you! I'll do my best!" and the walkie-talkie shut off.

"I mimic voices," he said to us.

"Only a bit," I said.

"Only a bit," he said in my voice, exactly how I said it. God that was creepy. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's keep moving," Fang suggested. We continued down the hall.

"That way!" Nudge exclaimed, pointing to a door with blinds covering it. Jet opened the door and jumped in. Three scientists were inside, and Jake was lying unconscious on a table.

"ALARM!" one yelled as they saw us. The alarm was on the other side of the room, and we broke into battle, doing everything to avoid the alarm. Landon, with the speed of a cheetah, was on the other side of the room, and Sparta-kicked, a new word, the closest scientist across the room. Angel, the six-year old, punched him out. Violent kids. I liked it. With two scientists left and seven mutants ready to attack, we had no trouble pounding the people to a pulp. It took us two people to lift Jake off the table.

"We can't carry him," I groaned, straightening my aching back. God, I was getting old.

"Wake up!" Jet yelled in Jake's face, slapping him. He didn't move. We were kicking and hitting him, but he didn't wake up.

"Are you sure he has a pulse?" Fang asked. I checked his pulse.

"Yeah, he's good. He's just too freaking LAZY," I yelled in his face again.

"What if we have to wake him up with a kiss, like in the fairytales? Ooh, that would be so cool! Maybe they'd ride off into the sunset…" Nudge rambled, squealing randomly. Fang covered her mouth.

"Um," Jet said. I was glaring at Jake for being a lazy potato and looked up. Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

"Oh no. No," I said as I realized what they meant.

"Oh come on!" Jet snapped.

"It's a life or death situation!" Nudge exclaimed. Everyone began talking at once, trying to convince me to wake up Jake with a kiss. Gag me.

"STOP IT. I'm not kissing Jake even if it's the last firetrucking thing I ever firetrucking do on this firetrucking planet!" I said stubbornly, managing to censor myself for the kids under ten in the room.

"Please? It's only one! You can slap him in the face when he wakes up," Jet said.

"You'll get first dibs on the TV when we get home," Landon coaxed. I looked at him. The TV was like a sacred thing that only Jake and Lee watched. They usually hogged it for the whole day. I glanced at Jake. I glanced at Landon with a pained expression.  
>"Ugh. Fine," I caved. I kneeled down next to him. I kissed his cheek quickly and backed away.<p>

"Solved," I said.

"On the lips," Jet said. I scowled, distorting my face. I leaned over him, closing the gap between us. I hate my life, I hate my life, I hate my life. My lips paused over his lifeless ones. I hate my life, I hate my life, I hate my life. I pressed my lips against his for a cold second and jerked away. Jake's eyes opened suddenly, jolting upright.

"Huh?" he asked, seeing them grinning in amusement at him. Then he saw me at the sink, washing my mouth out.

_Jake POV_

I was really confused when I woke up, but I saw Violet gagging, spitting, and washing out her mouth while everyone couldn't wipe a smile off of his or her faces.

"What happened?" I asked warily.  
>"Violet-" Jet began.<p>

"Tell him, and I'll rip out your abdomen," she threatened, pausing from cleaning her mouth. Jet didn't finish his sentence.

"Well, where are we going now?" I asked, staggering up.

"To find Lee, Max, and Vanessa," Landon said.

"Where are they?"

"Well, if we knew where they were," Violet began, taking a break from sterilizing her mouth, "we wouldn't have to go find them."

"Point taken," I said. "Do we at least know where to look?"

"Lee's downstairs, being tested," Angel, the little girl said. "She's in pain."

"How can you tell?"

"She told me. We just had a conversation."

"In your head?"

"Yeah," Angel said, shrugged and headed for the door. Everyone followed, poking their heads out the door.

"That way," Violet said, pointing to our left. There was sign hanging from the ceiling signaling the stairs.

"Downstairs," I read.

"Yeah. So unless you're illiterate, get going," Violet said. She seemed a bit more hostile than usual around me. I fell back to where Angel, the mind trick girl, was walking.

"What happened?" I bent down to whisper in her ear. In my mind, she began talking.

_I don't want to make a scene, since she likes threatening people. But, she had to kiss you to wake you up._

I straightened up in surprise. Violet kissed me? That would explain why she was washing out her mouth. Violet kissed me and I wasn't awake for it. I miss everything. Was my breath that bad? I don't think so… I breathed into my hand and smelled it. Ugh, it kind of was. I need a toothbrush. Did Violet love me? Of course she did, what girl doesn't?

**And that's what happens when Jake gets a POV. And extensive Violet POV. We'll get to Max later… Where did she run off to? With Iggy? And the only reason I didn't mention Iggy when they said who was missing because they don't know that Iggy's back. I said it. **

**Read and Review? This thing is almost at a 1000 views and a 100 reviews! Which is coincidentally one of my New Year's Resolutions. So help me get to it! That would amazing. And that would motivate me to write more… hint hint. I think I'm doing the Heroes of Olympus thing next. I need two more Romans, and that would make my day. TWO MORE. Actually, me on my other account will probably submit one, so ONE. ONE MORE. PLEASE? **


End file.
